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MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN CABELL BRECKINRIDGE 
C. S. A, 



THE 
NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

MAY, 1864 

BY 

EDWARD RAYMOND TURNER 

Profkssor or EimoritAN HrsTORv 
Univuksitv ok M I c: II I can 



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WHITTKT v"*: SIHCPPKRSON 
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Copyright 1912 

BV 

EDWARD RAYMOND TURNER 



£>Cl.A3J4r.7B 



TO 
MY AUNT 



Marp Honiiit tCurner 

A WOMAN OF THE 
OLD SOUTH 



PREFACE 

THE writing of this volume was made possible by the 
preliminary researches of Captain Henry A. Wise, 
Colonel George H. Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel George M 
Edgar, and Mr. Benjamin A. Colonna. 

The battle of New Market, though one of the smaller en- 
gagements of the Civil War, possessed certain striking features 
which made it such an attractive subject, that it had been 
described by numerous writers. Moreover the part taken by 
the Cadets was so brilliant and unique that tales of their ex- 
ploits, from the very day of the battle, were given wide circu- 
lation. To those in a position to know, however, it was evi- 
dent that no satisfactory account had been written; for not- 
withstanding that General Sigel, General Imboden, and others 
had given versions, their work was obviously semi-popular and 
incomplete ; while everything relating to the Cadets was more 
or less a matter of rumor and controversy, exaggerated asser- 
tions being made by their partisans, and sweeping denials by 
those who opposed them. 

The desirability of writing an authoritative account had 
occurred to a number of those who took part in the battle, but 
to no one more than Captain Wise, who led the much debated 
charge of the Cadets, and who ardently wished that the part 
taken by his comrades should be perpetuated and placed in the 
proper light. With this purpose in view he began a study of 
the subject, which was continued for twenty years, and which 
resulted in the collection of much of the material used as a 
basis for this study. He began by bringing together every- 

(v) 



Vi 



PREFACE 



thing that had hitherto been written about the battle. He then 
tried to get possession of such source materials as existed out- 
side of the War Department. Finally he endeavored to have 
every surviving officer and Cadet write all that he knew about 
the Valley campaign and all that he could learn from others. 
For years Captain Wise carried on a voluminous correspond- 
ence, asking and answering questions, and continually seeking 
for new information. In all of this he was eminently suc- 
cessful, for men on both sides told him all that they knew, 
while a number of small collections were given to him by those 
who had previously begun them. The result was an extraor- 
dinary mass of material, of uneven value, it is true, but pro- 
portionately speaking, as voluminous and minute, perhaps, as 
similar material relating to any battle of the Civil War. The 
entire accumulation was delivered to me to be used in the com- 
position of this book. 

Meanwhile, Colonel George H. Smith, who commanded the 
626. Virginia Regiment at New Market, undertook to write an 
account of the battle. He was the first who tried to do this in 
a scientific way. A legal training and a judicial temperament 
caused him to weigh and compare evidence in a manner not 
theretofore characteristic of the study of this incident. He 
was one of the first, moreover, to visit the battlefield, and 
endeavor to determine accurately the positions of the troops. 
The result of his investigations was a series of papers dealing 
with the New Market campaign. When my own work was 
begun, the first draft, filled as it was with inaccuracies, was 
sent to him for criticism. I shall never forget the moderation 
with which this older student took issue with me, the courtesy 
with which my attention was called to mistakes, and the sug- 
gestive and constructive advice which was given to me. Since 



PREFACE vii 

then this advice has always been at my service, and I have con- 
stantly profited by it. The opponents of Colonel Smith have 
reproached him with making mistakes, which he had afterward 
to acknowledge; but I know of almost no one else who has 
done pioneer work in this field, who has been able progres- 
sively to abandon errors, errors unavoidable because of the 
chaos of obscurity in which the subject was enveloped, for 
closer approximations to the truth, which he was himself 
helping to establish. It is one of the most pleasant tasks in 
writing this book to pay a tribute to this Southern gentleman. 

Lieutenant-Colonel George M. Edgar, who commanded the 
26th Virginia Battalion at New Market, and who directed one 
of the decisive movements in the battle, had begun to write a 
history also. The men of the 26th Battalion had been hardly 
dealt with. At a critical moment in the fight they had charged 
desperately upon the enemy and broken his line, doing much 
to enable their comrades to win the battle ; yet for a long time 
it was asserted that they had remained in the rear as a reserve. 
Colonel Edgar desired to undo this injustice. He began to 
collect material and study the sources, and would undoubtedly 
have composed one of the ablest and most accurate histories of 
the battle yet written, when the present undertaking was 
brought to his attention. Then not only did he give the author 
the benefit of his knowledge and experience, but with rare 
generosity turned over the entire collection of materials which 
had been amassed by him, desiring only that justice be done 
to all. 

Another task remained, which was undertaken by the one 
most fitted to do it. There was no accurate survey, and no 
adequate topographical map of the battlefield. In 191 1 this 
was executed by Mr. Benjamin A. Colonna. a New Market 



Vlll 



PREFACE 



Cadet, whose training in the government service made him 
eminently quaHfied. When the map was completed, copies 
were sent to most of the commanders who had taken part in 
the battle, with the request that they mark the several positions 
of their commands, and the lines along w^hich they had moved, 
and answer a series of carefully prepared questions. The in- 
valuable data thus obtained was likewise delivered to me. 

My own task has been the using of all this material, a task 
characterized by such difficulty as I fear will be appreciated 
only by those who have tried to make military history minute 
and detailed. The very mass of the evidence was bewildering, 
while a part of it was contradictory, owing to the fact that 
in regard to some matters eye-witnesses, indeed men who par- 
ticipated in the same movement, had given diametrically oppo- 
site accounts; a difficulty not lessened by the fact that as a 
rule numbers of writers had hastened to substantiate the rival 
narratives. Accordingly while this volume is intended to be 
approximately a final statement, I put forward the solution of 
some of the problems with considerable diffidence, though I 
fear some of them are destined not to be solved in a manner 
satisfactory to all authorities. I have constantly been re- 
proached for not doing justice, and reproved for not making 
my account different ; but I hope for the lenity of these critics 
in asking them to consider that from nearly every one of the 
commands I have statements to show that when a retreat 
was made, that command retreated last or did not retreat at 
all ; that when a charge was made, that command charged first, 
and first broke the enemy's line; and that when cannon w^ere 
taken, that command captured them. I have been conscious 
of no prejudice myself, and I have desired earnestly and tried 
arduously to tell the truth. I have good reason to believe that 



PREFACE ix 

the conclusions presented are correct, but if they are mistaken, 
I hope that the mass of evidence submitted will assist my 
critics in correcting them. The bibliography and the discus- 
sion of the sources there contained will show the character 
of the materials used and the methods employed in using them. 
I may say that the earlier drafts of this work were for more 
than two years subjected to the scrutiny of those best qualified 
to criticise them. 

Some of the more important results of this study may be 
summed up as follows : 

There was no such disparity of numbers in the opposing 
forces as has often been stated : Sigel had about 6,000 men in 
the battle; Breckinridge about 4,500. 

The Federal army was defeated because of the slow, falter- 
ing, and clumsy strategy of its commander, and through a lack 
of hearty co-operation on the part of the different commands. 

The Confederate triumph was owing to superb and brilliant 
movements of Imboden and Breckinridge, who showed them- 
selves no unworthy successors of Stonewall Jackson, and to 
the resolute bravery of the veteran Confederate troops. 

The decisive factors on May 15 were the storming of the 
Federal position on the right, the excellent handling of the 
Confederate artillery, the defeat of the Federal cavalry, and 
the desperate charges made by the Confederate center. 

As regards the Cadets it may be said : 

Any assertion that the Cadets won the battle of New 
Market, or stemmed a Confederate rout, are popular exag- 
gerations which have tended to discredit what they actually 
did. 

There is no doubt that they held the gap in the Confed- 
erate line, fought wondrously well, and by their example stim- 
ulated the adjoining regiments to make the decisive charge. 



X PREFACE 

It remains only to make my grateful acknowledgments to 
all who assisted me either by contribution, criticism, or sug- 
gestion. I am under particular obligations to Lieutenant- 
Colonel George M. Edgar, of Paris, Kentucky; the Rev. Dr. 
C. W. Humphreys, of Milton, Florida; Colonel George H. 
Smith, of Los Angeles, California; Mr. Preston Cocke and 
Major Branch B. Morgan of Richmond, Virginia; and Mr. 
Benjamin A. Colonna of Washington, D. C. I must again 
mention Captain Henry A. Wise and Mr. Preston Cocke, who 
not only assisted and encouraged me at all times, but by their 
arduous labors in preparing the way, made possible the un- 
dertaking and completion of this work. 

EDWARD RAYMOND TURNER. 

Ann Arbor, Michigan. 



CONTENTS 

Page 
Preface v 

CHAPTER I 
The Situation in the Valley i 

CHAPTER II 
The Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute ... 14 

CHAPTER III 
The Struggle for Position 20 

CHAPTER IV 
The Battle 39 

CHAPTER V 
The Part of the Cadets 66 

CHAPTER VI 
The Confederate Triumph 90 

APPENDIX A 
The Opposing Armies no 

APPENDIX B 
General Sigel 117 

APPENDIX C 
General Breckinridge 119 

(xi) 



xii CONTENTS 

APPENDIX D 
The Positions of the Commands 122 

APPENDIX E 
The 26th Battalion and the 51st Regiment . . . . 134 

APPENDIX F 
Account by Cadet N. B. Noland 148 

APPENDIX G 
The Alumnos of the Colegio MiHtar 150 

APPENDIX H 
The Cadets and the Capture of the Cannon . . . . 152 

APPENDIX I 
From the Diary of a Federal Soldier 162 

APPENDIX J 
Roster of the Cadet Battalion 163 

Bibliography 172 

I Contemporary Accounts 1 7-? 

II Accounts not Contemporary Written by Officers Com- 
manding and Others 1 75 

III Relations Concerning Parts of the Battle for the Most 

Part by Officers and Men Participating . . . 177 

IV Accounts Written by Cadets of the Virginia Military 

Institute l8l- 

V Maps and Diagrams, for the Most Part by Participants 

in the Battle 185 

VI Authorities, Secondary Accounts, and Miscellaneous . 186 

Index 189 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

1. Major-General John Cabell Breckinridge . Frontispiece " 

From an old photograph in the possession of W. W. 
Foster, Richmond, Va. 

Facing Page 

2. Major-General Franz Sigel 3 "^ 

From an old photograph in possession of L. C. Handy, 
Washington, D. C. 

3- The Valley Turnpike at New Market .... 22" 

Photograph by Preston Cocke, V. M. I. N. M. Corps. 

4- Shirley's Hill from the Turnpike 26'" ' 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

5. Shirley's Hill from the Vicinity of the Lutheran 

Church-yard ^^^ 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

6. Brigadier-General John D. Imboden .... 40 ^ 

From an old photograph in possession of L. C. Handy. 

7. The North Fork of the Shenandoah River ... 46 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

8. The Stony Hollow near the Bushong House . . 54 ^' 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

9. The Bottom Lands near Smith's Creek . . . . 62'"^' 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

10. The Southern End of Bushong's Hill .... 70 "^ 

Photograph by Preston Cocke, 
(xiii) 



xiv ^IST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing Page , 

11. The Bushong House 76 

Photograph by Admiral Harrie Webster, U. S. N. 

v/ 

12. The Slope of Bushong's Hill 84 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

/ 

13. Colonel George D. Wells 92 

From an old photograph in possession of L. C. Handy. 

y 

14. Brigadier-General Gabriel C. Wharton . . . . no 

From an old photograph in possession of L. C. Handy. 

y 

15. Brigadier-General John Echols 122 

From a painting in Lee Camp Hall, Richmond, Va. 

y 

16. The Bushong Orchard 148 

Photograph bv Admiral Harrie Webster, U. S. N. 

y 

17. The Crest of Bushong's Hill 158 

Photograph by Preston Cocke. 

18. The Ruins of the Virginia Military Institute in y 

1864 164 

From a contemporary photograph, in the possession of 
Miley & Son, Lexington, Va. 



MAPS. 

Page 

1. War Map of Virginia, 1864 i 

2. New Market Battlefield . '. 132 



Cover designed by Branch B. Morgan, C. E., V, M. I., 1893. 



The New Market Campaign 

1864 

CHAPTER I. 
The Situation in the Valley, 

IT HAS been said that the battle of Gettysburg marked a 
turning point in the fortunes of the Confederacy not only 
because it foreboded the exhaustion of the South, but because 
the North, realizing at last the actual horror of warfare on its 
own soil, made renewed and gigantic efforts to bring the strug- 
gle to a close. However this may be, it is certain that during 
the winter of 1863 and the months following huge additions 
were made to the Federal forces in Virginia, and that presently 
under the masterly leadership of Grant and his lieutenants an 
onward march was begun upon the Confederates from all 
sides at once. And such was now the disparity of the oppos- 
ing armies that the advance could thus be made, because while 
it was necessary that Lee, for example, should mass his thinned 
ranks in concentrated strength, and oppose the main body of 
the enemy, it was possible for Grant at the same time to 
advance upon his great antagonist with an overwhelming 
army, and yet out of the superfluity of his numbers threaten 
him from other points as well. At the time, perhaps, it could 
not be seen clearly, but it was, as we now know, the beginning 
of the end. 

In the spring of 1864 Grant planned to overwhelm the 
Confederate resistance by combined strategy and simultaneous 



2 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

advance. In the west, Banks was to abandon Texas and, col- 
lecting 25,000 men, make an attempt upon Mobile, while in 
the south, Sherman was to break up Johnston's army and de- 
stroy the Confederacy from within. The work in the east, the 
most difficult part. Grant reserved for himself. There Lee's 
army, which had so long stood at bay, was to be surrounded 
and attacked on every side.^ While Grant with the main army 
advanced in front, plans were made to draw in upon Lee from 
all other directions as well, to threaten Richmond, to disturb 
his communications, to raid the country in his rear, and to 
destroy his base of supplies. Thus Butler with 33,000 men 
moving up the James River from Fort Monroe was to attack 
Richmond on the one side, while on the other Union troops 
were to raid the Shenandoah Valley and get possession of 
southwest Virginia. 

It is not necessary to trace the history of this combined 
movement. It may be said that in carrying out the frontal 
attack Grant soon became locked in a death struggle with Lee 
in the Wilderness. On the Peninsula Butler accomplished 
nothing, but was immediately shut up between the James and 
the Appomattox as completely as if he had been in a bottle 
corked.^ Meanwhile, however, the movements from southwest 
and western Virginia bade fair to destroy the Confederate rear. 

At the beginning of 1864 the Federal Department of West 

1 For Grant's plan see The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of 
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (abbreviated 
hereafter War Records), serial i, vol. XXXII, part III, 245, 246; ser. i, 
vol. XXXIII, 827-829; also Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, II, 129- 
133. 

* Report of General Grant, July 22, 1865, in War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVI, part I, 18. For the entire plan see ibid., 15-17. For the causes 
of this shameful failure s«e G. W. Wolfson, "Butler's Relations with 
Grant and the Army of the James in 1864," South Atlantic Quarterly, X, 
377-393- 



THE SITUATION IN THE VALLEY 3 

Virginia was under the command of Major-General Franz 
SigeP who, it is estimated, had altogether about 25,000 men.* 
These were somewhat scattered, the largest bodies being a 
force under Crook in the Kanawha region of southwest Vir- 
ginia, and a force under Sigel himself near Martinsburg, West 
Virginia. In addition many men were doing guard duty along 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the all important line from 
Baltimore to the west.^ 

In working out his general plan, Grant intended that these 
forces should destroy the Valley railroads and seize Lynch- 
burg and Staunton. Sigel says that on March 29 he received 
orders from Grant to dispatch within ten days 8,000 infantry 
and 1,500 cavalry, picked men, to march to Staunton by way 
of Covington.^ In the meantime Crook was to make a raid in 
southwest Virginia for the purpose of destroying as much as 
possible of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and then 
move on to Lynchburg. As this plan was presently worked 
out. Crook's task was considered the more important, so that 
he was given 10,000 men, while Sigel, who says that he had 
remaining only about 7,000, was expected to engage the enemy 
from the north and create a diversion.'^ 

3 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 618. 664. See below, Appendix 
B, p. 117. Also Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 487. 

* In a report to Thomas, March 29, 1864, Sigel gives the total num- 
ber as 22,2,97. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 762-765. In another 
place Sigel says 24,000. "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864," Bat- 
tles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 487. According to a Southern 
writer he had more than 27,000. William Allan, in Southern Historical 
Society Papers, XI, 271. 

' War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 762-765 ; Allan, place cited; Sigel, 
place cited. 

« Sigel, ibid. Cf. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 765, 874. 

T War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, part i, 901, 911, 964, 1027, 1028; 
^bid., ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 368, 369; Sigel, place cited, 487; Allan, 
Southern Historical Society Papers, XI, 271. 



4 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

The advance from the southwest need only be mentioned 
h.ere. On May 2 Crook marched from the Kanawha River, 
and on the 9th defeated A. G. Jenkins at Cloyd's Mountain. 
Following the enemy he entered Dublin, and destroyed a quan- 
tity of military stores. On the nth he defeated the Confed- 
erates at New River, and burning the bridge there, cut the Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee Railroad in two, and so achieved the most 
important part of his task. With Averell. who had left Logan 
Court House on May 6 in command of two thousand men, 
Crook effected a junction at Union in Monroe County on May 
15th. By the 19th he had finished his retreat. He had not 
reached Lynchburg, but he had accomplished a large part of 
what had been intended.^ 

While Crook and Averell were fighting in the south, Sigel 
was marching up the Shenandoah Valley in the course of a 
campaign filled with glory for his opponents, but fraught with 
disaster to himself; the campaign which culminated at New 
Market. 

Sigel's movement was intended to be largely for the pur- 
pose of diverting the attention of the Confederates from 
Crook,^ his objective point being Staunton, where he could 

s War Records, sor. i, vol. XXXVII, part I. 8-67, 365, 710. 728, 736. 
y^j; Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, MS. The Battle of New Market, 2; 
Allan, XI, 271 ; Holmes Conrad, Nciv Market Day, 24, 25. 

9 Sigel, place cited, 487, 488. Grant writing to Sherman, April 4, had 
said: ''From the expedition from the Department of West Virginia I do 
not calculate on very great results, but it is the only way I can take troops 
from there. With the long line of railroad Sigel has to protect he can 
spare no troops, except to move directly to his front. In this way he 
must get through to inflict great damage on the enemy, or the enemy 
must detacli from one of his armies a large force to protect it. In other 
words, if Sigel can't skin himself he can hold a leg whilst some one else 
skins." War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXII, part III. 246. On May 8, Sigel 
wrote to Grant: "If I receive no orders to the contrary, I will move 



THE SITUATION IN THE VALLEY 5 

command the Virginia Central Railroad, now the Chesapeake 
and Ohio/" On May i he prepared for his advance up the 
Valley by sending his baggage to the rear. Soon afterward he 
set out, moving with the slowness which characterized most of 
his subsequent operations, so that in two weeks he had gone 
no farther than the little village of New Market about fifty 
miles from Winchester, whence he had started. It is probable 
that his forces amounted in all to about 6,500 men." 

At first Sigel believed that his march would be almost un- 
opposed. At Winchester and at Cedar Creek he learned that 
there was no hostile force in the Shenandoah Valley except 
Imboden's cavalry and mounted infantry, which exaggerated 
reports made out to be 3,000 strong." Before leaving Win- 
chester he dispatched two forces of cavalry to guard his flanks : 
to the right he sent Colonel Jacob Higgins with 500 horsemen 
in the direction of Wardensville ; to the left Colonel William 
H. Boyd with 300 horsemen into the Luray Valley. The first 
disaster came in a few days when both of these detachments 
met with total defeat, thus leaving his flanks exposed.^^ On 

up the Shenandoah Valley and try to come into communication and form 
a junction with General Crook, who is expected to be at Lewisberg on or 
about the 14th instant." Ibid., sen i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 407. For 
Sigel's correspondence with Grant, cf. ibid., ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 874, 901, 
911. 

1" General John Echols, Address on the Life and Character of General 
John C. Breckinridge, 5. 

11 Sigel's army has been variously estimated to have contained from 
5.000 to 15,000 men. See below, pp. 111-116. 

12 Sigel, place cited, 488; Sigel to Grant, May i, 1864, in War Rec- 
ords, ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 364, 365; Major Theodore F. Lang, MS. 
Personal Recollections of the Battle of New Market. It is probable that 
Imboden did not have more than 2,000 men. 

13 Sigel, ibid.; Lang, ibid.; War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part 
I, 427, 428. 



6 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

May 9 Sigel was joined by Sullivan's division at Cedar Creek, 
and on the loth, after a cavalry skirmish, he occupied 
Woodstock. Here fell into his hands all of the enemy's tele- 
giaphic correspondence, from which he learned that Breckin- 
ridge was hastening toward him with 4,000 men to reinforce 
Imboden/'* 

On May 13 Sigel sent forward three regiments of infan- 
try, 900 cavalry, and six guns, under Colonel Augustus Moor. 
The next day they encountered a portion of Imboden's army 
near Mount Jackson, and forcing them across the Shenandoah, 
got possession of the bridge, and then followed them to New 

^■^ IVar Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 427, 446; Sigel, place 
cited; Lang, place cited. The Confederates seem to have believed that 
Sigel was not aware that there were in his front any hostile forces save 
those of Imboden. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, General Breckinridge's 
Chief of Staff, says that when on the night of the 14th Breckinridge 
learned that Federal troops had occupied New Market, he determined to 
attack them early in the morning, before they should receive informa- 
tion of his advance. He adds that Sigel "was wholly unconscious of the 
presence of any force in his front, except a few cavalry which had been 
steadily falling back before his advance." The Battle of New Market, 5. 
It seems that while Sigel knew from the captured correspondence that 
Breckinridge was hastening against him, he did not know of the actual 
presence of his opponent until early on the morning of the 15th. Major 
Lang, of Sigel's Staff, says : "Sigel" received "information of this ex- 
ploit" (the forcing of the Shenandoah at Mount Jackson) "late at night 
of the 14th, and at the same time also that Breckinridge was on his march 
down the Valley. From Sigel's headquarters at Mount Jackson, at about 
midnight, we learned that Colonel Moor was in close quarters with either 
Imboden or Breckinridge, for we could hear the report of artillery at in- 
tervals during the remainder of the night. So, at about three o'clock, the 
v.-riter was ordered to take a squadron of cavalry and proceed to the front, 
in order to keep the commanding general informed as to the situation. 
When the w"riter reported to Colonel Moor, he found a deserter from 
General Imboden's command, who gave the first information as to the 
troops that were in front of us." Personal Recollections, etc. "We had 
driven the enemy out of the town the night before, and were not looking 



THE SITUATION IN THE F ALLEY 7 

Market, seven miles beyond/" The result of this success was 
that the two divisions of Sigel's army, one part at Woodstock, 
the other at New Market, were separated by a distance of 
about nineteen miles/*' Herein lies one of the explanations of 
Sigel's failure. At no time thereafter was he able to get all of 
his forces united against the Confederate attack.'^ 

for trouble, as we were in ignorance ... of the proximity of Breck- 
inridge's forces, as we also suppose was the case with General Sigel." 
MS. letter of A. J. Gilbert (123d Ohio Regiment) to B. A. Colonna, Dec. 
12, 1910. 

15 Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, 28th Ohio Infantry, May 21, 
1864, in War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 79-81 ; Imboden, "The 
Battle of New Market," in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 
482; Sigel, ibid., 488. Cf. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 
731, 733. 

16 Sigel, place cited, 488. In a dispatch to Grant, May 13, 1864. Sigel 
explains his plan as follows: "My principal object in advancing up the 
Shenandoah Valley was to threaten Staunton, to divide the forces of 
Breckinridge, and to assist by those means General Crook, whose object is 
to destroy New River bridge. . . . (My forces are insufficient for 
offensive operations in this country, where the enemy is continuously on 
my flank and rear. My intention, therefore, is not to advance farther 
than this place with my main force, but I have sent out strong parties 
in every direction. Skirmishing is going on every day. If Breckinridge 
should advance against us I will resist him at some convenient position. 
My cavalry is at Mount Jackson to-day." War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 446, 447- 

1" Lang, Personal Recollections, etc. In describing the battle, the 
author says: "Soon the skirmish lines of the two armies were engaged. 
Then it was that Sigel made his first appearance upon the field. I en- 
quired for his troops, and received the reply that they were coming, and in 
turn he received from the writer, 'yes, General, but too late.' " See also 
below, p. loi, where Major Lang's strictures are quoted. A. J. Gilbert 
(123d Ohio Regiment) says that he was "much surprised to see, about 
nine o'clock in the morning, the approach toward our line of the solid 
lines of Breckinridge's troops ... as it was known that Sigel had 
his force strung out down the Valley for several miles, and only our little 
brigade with a section of Battery D with us, it was easy to compre- 



8 • THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Learning of his subordinate's success late on the night of 
the 14th, Sigel beheved that Mount Jackson would afford an 
admirable position from which to confront his opponent. Very- 
early on the morning of the 15th he ordered his remaining 
troops to advance, so that by ten o'clock they had reached 
Mount Jackson, seven miles in the rear of j\Ioor at New 
Market.^® Here, he says, while he was debating whether to 
go farther or not, he got word from Colonel Moor and 
others^® that the troops at New Market were in an excellent 
situation, that the men were eager for a fight, and that Breck- 
inridge was in their front. Two batteries were asked for. 
Hereupon Sigel resolved to fight the enemy at New Market.^"* 
Accordingly he hastened forward and arrived upon the scene 
about noon. Immediately, however, he realized that all of his 
forces could not reach New Market in time, since the battle had 
begun. He now changed his plan once more, and, as will be 
seen, ordered ]\Ioor to fall slowly back.^^ 

hend what thel outcome was going to be." Letter to B. A. Colonna, Dec. 
12, 1910. 

IS Sigel. place cited, 488. 

^^ Major Lang says: "The writer at once dispatched a courier to 
Sigel . . . requesting him to bring foi'ward his entire force, and to 
make no delay, as w^e would certainly soon have a battle. At this period 
day was just breaking . . . the writer with his squadron took position 
. . . on a high point . . . from this point the maneuvers of the 
Confederates could be seen in the distance, south of New Market . . . 
every ten minutes I would send a courier to Sigel to bring his troops to 
the front at a double quick." Personal Recollections, etc. 

-0 "Believing that a retreat would have a bad effect on our troops, 
and well aware of the strategical value of New Market, commanding, as 
it did, the road to Luray, Culpeper, and Charlottesville, as well as the 
road to Brock's Gap and Moorfield, I resolved to hold the enemy in check 
until the arrival of our main forces from Mount Jackson and then accept 
battle." Sigel, place cited, 48S. 

21 Ibid., 489. The march of the Federal forces to New Market is 



MAJOR-GENERAL FRANZ SIGEL, 
U. S. A. 






THE SITUATION IN THE VALLEY 9 

The Federal movements had thus far been characterized 
by uncertainty, slowness, and indecision. Already there had 
been partial failure. Many of the men were disheartened be- 
fore the campaign was well begun, while as the critical 
moment drew near, it brought to the minds of the officers 
misgiving and foreboding of disaster.'" 

In contrast with this wavering policy were the swift and 
decisive movements of the Confederates. The opening of the 
campaign found them defending lines which were extended 
and which might easily be broken. The country to be pro- 
tected had long since been drained of its men, so that at all 
times during the campaign the Confederate forces were numer- 
ically inferior to their enemies. But what they lacked in num- 
bers and equipment was supplied by their energy and the skill 
of their commanders. It is true that their task was an impos- 
sible one, and before long they were destined to be swept aside 
and defeated ; but, acting along interior lines, at first they did 
accomplish the seemingly impossible, and for a short time held 
Lee's base of supplies unharmed and almost untouched. 

Brigadier-General John D. Imboden, who was command- 
ing in the Valley, says that as early as April he knew that 
Sigel would attempt an invasion of the Shenandoah country."^ 

described by Walker, History of the Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut 
Volunteers, 212-217; Rawling, History of the First Regiment Virginia 
Infantry, 163-164; Keyes, Military History of the 123d Regiment Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry, 54. 

22 Cf. Lincoln, Life With the Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, 
260 ff. 

23 Imboden, "The Battle of New Market," in Battles and Leaders of 
the Civil War, IV, 480. For various rumors and predictions cf. War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 1253, 1254, 1255, 1291, 1295, 1297, 1305, 1319, 
1322, 1324. 



10 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Accordingly on May 2 he broke camp at Mount Crawford, 
Rockingham Coimt}'^, and advanced to meet Sigel and learn 
what he could. Since he had with him a force of less than 
1,600 men, he summoned the reserves of Rockingham and 
Augusta Counties to be ready at a moment's notice, while he 
sent a similar order to the Cadets of the Virginia Military In- 
stitute at Lexington.'"' 

On May 5 he obtained positive information as to Sigel's 
superior force, and so dispatched to General Lee urgent re- 
quests that aid be sent him.^^ Meanwhile he actively con- 
fronted his opponent, falling back slowly and w^atching every 
movement. First he tried to compel the Federal troops to 
withdraw by striking the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in their 
rear. To accomplish this end McNeill's Virginia Partisan 
Rangers made a dash around Sigel, and striking the railroad 
at Piedmont, West Virginia, wrought enormous damage, burn- 
ing the bridge and machine-shops, and destroying locomo- 
tives and other property worth, it was said, several million 
dollars.*' A few days later, when Sigel sent out strong bodies 
of cavalry to cover his flanks, Imboden by rapid and daring 
movements struck them separately and captured or dispersed 

2* Imboden, place cited, Imboden's force consisted of the 62A Virginia 
mounted infantry, Colonel George H. Smith; the 23d Virginia Cavalry, 
Colonel Robert White; the i8th Virginia Cavalry, Colonel George W. 
Imboden; Major Harry Gilmor's battalion of cavalry; part of Major 
Sturgis Davis's Maryland battalion of cavalry; Captain J. H. McNeill's 
Rangers; Captain J. H. McClanahan's battery, six guns: and Captain 
Bartlett's Valley District Signal Corps. Ibid. 

25 MS. Letter of Imboden to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 

26 See McNeill's report in War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I. 
69; also ibid., 383, 388, 389. 390, 391, 392. Cf. Richmond Enquirer, May 
17, 1864; also "War Path" in (Richmond) Sentinel, ]\Iay 25. 1864. 



THB SITUATION IN THE VALLEY II 

the greater part of their forces. ^^ Thus he was able to retard 
the Federal advance until in a few days he learned that Breck- 
inridge was hastening from southwestern Virginia to succor 
him." 

Major-General John Cabell Breckinridge"" received com- 
mand of the Western Department of Virginia on February 
25."'* The jurisdiction included east Tennessee, and Virginia 
west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, his headquarters be- 
ing at Dublin, Pulaski County, Virginia, on the East Ten- 
nessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, so that he might guard 
the important salt-works and lead-mines nearby. The frontier 
which he must defend was several hundred miles long; the 
troops granted him for this purpose were few and insufficient. 
The forces at his disposal consisted of one brigade of infantry 
under Brigadier-General John Echols at Monroe Draught, and 
another under Brigadier-General Gabriel C. V/harton at the 
Narrows of New River, twenty-six miles from Dublin. In 
addition he had a force of Tennessee cavalry under General 
John C. Vaughan, the Kentucky cavalry of General John H. 
Morgan at Abingdon, General A. G. Jenkins's cavalry at the 
Narrows of New River, and a brigade of cavalry under Col- 
onel W. L. Jackson at Warm Springs. ^^ Thus at the time when 

27 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 71, y^, 724, 725, 726, 729, 
734; Imboden, "The Battle of New Market," place cited, 481; Imboden 
to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. See above, p. 5. 

28 For Imboden's masterly retreat see an article by "War Path" in 
(Richmond) Sentinel, May 25, 1864. Cf. Imboden, place cited, 481; Im- 
boden to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 

29 See below. Appendix C, p. 119. 

so pj/ar Records, ser. i, vol. XXXIII, 1198. He assumed command 
March 5. Ibid., 121 1. MS. Draft of a Report of the Battle of New 
Market written by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston for General Breckin- 
ridge, "shortly after the battle ;" cited as Breckinridge, Report. 

31 Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, MS. The Battle of New Market, i. 



12 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



Sigel was preparing to advance upon Staunton, Breckinridge 
had less than 10,000 men in his entire department, his forces 
consisting of two small brigades of infantry, and four small 
brigades of cavalry partly dismounted.^" All of these troops 
were widely scattered. 

Breckinridge had been informed earlier that the enemy 
was preparing to move against him, but about May i he 
ascertained that Crook was advancing with a strong force from 
the Kanawha. ^^ He at once endeavored so to arrange his small 
and dispersed forces as to frustrate this move, and engaged 
busily in preparations to drive Crook back ; but meanwhile the 
danger from Sigel became still more pressing.^* On May 4, 
Breckinridge received a dispatch from President Davis at 
Richmond saying that Sigel was advancing up the Shenan- 
doah Valley, and suggesting that he might have to protect that 
place. ^'^ Accordingly he communicated with Lee, and on the 
morning of May 5 received answer that Sigel was on the 
march, and that his movement threatened Lee's left at the 
same time that Grant's entire army was advancing. Accord- 
ingly he was ordered to the defense of Staunton with all his 
available force to check the Valley movement as soon as pos- 
sible.^« 



32 Lieutenant-Colonel George M. Edgar, MS. Notes of Comment on 
the Battle of New Market; C. W. Humphreys. "Battle of New Market" 
in (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, October 8, 1905; Echols, Address, 6. 

33 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part L 707, 709; J. S. Johnston, 
The Battle of New Market, 2. 

3* Cf. correspondence of Lee with Jefferson Davis, I\Iay 3, 1864, War 
Records, ser. 1, vol. XXXVI, part II, 942, 943; also vol. XXXVII, part 
I, 710. 

^^ Id., vol. XXXVII, part I. 712; Breckinridge, Report; Johnston, p. 2. 

s« Breckinridge, Report: War Records, ser. i. vol. XXXVII, part I, 

713 ; Johnston, p. 2. "He received an order from General Lee to take the 



THE SITUATION IN THE VALLEY 1 3 

On the next day, May 6, Breckinridge set out, taking 
Echols's Brigade, consisting of the 226. Virginia Regiment, 
the 26th BattaHon, and the 23d BattaHon ; parts of Wharton's 
Brigade, namely the 51st Virginia Regiment and Clarke's Bat- 
talion ; and Chapman's battery.^^ Jones and Morgan were left 
to protect the salt-works and lead-mines, and McCausland's 
Brigade and a force of cavalry remained at the Narrows of 
New River. Altogether the force which he could bring to 
Imboden's assistance was probably not more than 4,000 men.^* 
Breckinridge himself went ahead by forced marches and 
reached Staunton on the evening of the 8th, his infantry arriv- 
ing two days later.^'* Meanwhile Imboden had called out the 
reserves of Augusta and Rockingham Counties under Colonel 
John H. Harmon.*" On the 9th the Cadets of the Virginia 
Military Institute were summoned. They responded on the 
nth under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp.*^ 
The part played by the Cadets in the ensuing campaign was 
of a character so romantic and unique as to make necessary 
some digression. 

greater part of his command speedily to Staunton and meet Sigel's col- 
umn — leaving as few as could be relied upon to make a show of resistance 
in front of the column of the Federals about to move from the Kanawha 
Valley towards Dublin." Letter of Lieut.-Col. George M. Edgar to Henry 
A. Wise, February 18, 1896. 

3" Edgar, Notes of Comment on the Battle of New Market. 

3s "I have 4,OGO men en route for Jackson Depot to take cars." Breck- 
inridge to Imboden, May 4, 1864, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part 
I, 717. Cf. id., 712, 713, 718; also vol. XXXIII, 1231, 1239, 1318, 1328; 
Breckinridge, Report; Edgar to Henry A. Wise, February 18, 1896. 

3» Breckinridge, Report. 

40 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 715, 716. 

•*! Report of Lieut.-Col. Scott Shipp, July 4, 1864, in War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 89; Breckinridge, Report; J. S. Johnston, 
The Battle of New Market, 3. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute. 

THE Virginia Military Institute was established by the 
state at Lexington in 1839. Designed as a military 
academy and training school, it was liberally supported by the 
commonwealth, and under the management of its superin- 
tendent. Brevet Major-General Francis H. Smith, a West 
Point graduate, it had an honorable career and became the 
pride of Virginia.^ 

At the outbreak of the Civil War a period of greater activ- 
ity began. There was much need in the Southern states for 
training in military matters, and the Virginia Institute being 
the most important establishment of its kind there, became 
more prominent than ever before. Its officers and cadets, how- 
ever, were so eager in offering their services wherever they 
were needed, that soon many of them had been called away. 
In May, 1 86 1, the Institute was closed for a while, since the 
Cadets were ordered to Richmond by the state authorities' for 
military duty. Just before their departure they w^ere addressed 
by Colonel J. T. Preston, a member of the faculty since the 
foundation of the Institute. In words of earnestness and 
pathos he bade them never forget the ideals of the school which 
they w^ere leaving." Then under the lead of Major Thomas 

1 J. S. Wise, "The We-t Point of the Confederacy," Cciiiury, 
XXXVII, 461 (January, 1889). 

- "Cadets, called by the voice of your country and your God, you are 
entering upon the path of duty and of danger. The first step in the path 
you will soon take ; when, where, and how the last will be taken by all, 
or any of you, God alone knows. Let this not disturb 3-0U ; you are right 

14 



THE CADETS jc 

Jonathan Jackson they marched away to Richmond, where 
they rendered efficient service as drill-masters in the preparing 
of new recruits for the field. ^ 

In January of the year following the need of training 
officers for the Confederate army was so clearly realized that 
the Institute was opened once more and its work begun anew. 
The Cadets now taught there were prepared for war not only 
by the rigid drill and discipline of the barracks, but by actual 
marching and camping in the field, since from time to time in 
response to danger summons they were hurried out to give aid 
and re-enforcement.^ These boys, who had been called the 
seed-corn of the Confederacy,-"' came, some of them, from the 
highest and proudest families in the South. Many of them 
longed for the day when they could go forth and do a soldier's 
work; and one of their number has left a record of how amid 
the lonely hills where Lexington lies they chafed at the news of 
the mighty deeds wrought in the world outside, and of how 
they burned to march away and take part in them.^ 

now, let it be your care never to be wrong. The venerable minister of 
God has invoked "Heaven's best blessing upon you; take this with you as 
your best omen and bear it with you as your most cherished possession. 
For the rest remember you are Virginians, and never forget, in battle, or 
in march ... in success, or in trial, . . . never forget the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute." Quoted by Upshur, "Address," New Market 
Day, 9. 

3 Ibid. 

* In May, 1862, the Cadets had marched to Jackson's aid at Mc- 
Dowell in the Shenandoah Valley, but did not take part in the battle. 
J. S. Wise, place cited, 462; Upshur, p. 10. 

^J. S. Wise, p. 461. 

6 "As the war wore on, the stirring events following each other so 
rapidly and so near at hand bred a restlessness and discontent in every 
high-strung boy among us. Each battle seemed to infuse fresh impa- 
tience in the cadets, who would assemble at the sally-port for discussion; 



l6 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGX 

Aleanwhile vanished the hg'htsome hopes with which the 
contest had begun. In the west, in the south, on the James, on 
the Rappahannock, a terrible struggle was being waged; and 
though victory perched upon the banners of the Confederacy 
again and again, yet the mournful evidence of battle came 
even to Lexington, for one after another broken and wounded 
officers were brought there to stay until they could go back to 
fight, or find there a resting-place forever.' Old men now liv- 
ing speak of the profound impression made upon them when 
the mighty Jackson himself was borne back to sleep in the 
shadow of the halls where he had taught.® Then came Gettys- 
burg and the definite turning of the tide, when the utmost that 
Lee could do was for a while to stay the mighty onrush of the 
Federal forces; the period when the Confederacy was drained 
dry of soldiers, when new hostile forces threatened front and 
flank and rear, when the need of men became desperate. Then 
at last came the call for the Cadets, and they answered. 

Already at the beginning of 1864 in a mass meeting they 
had passed resolutions offering their services to General Lee; 
but he replied that he preferred them to remain at Lexington, 
since if they left, it would be necessar}' for him to send other 

the mails were crowded with letters begging parents and guardians for 
permission to resign and go to the war. Good boys became bad ones to 
secure dismissal, and as the result of these conspiracies regular hegiras 
would occur. Many a night have I paced the sentr>--beat. thinking now 
of the last gay party that had scrambled to the top of the departing stage, 
commissioned for active service; now envying the careless gayety of the 
veterans assembled in the officers' quarters, as from time to time their 
joyous laughter over campaigning yarns burst from the window of some 
tower room ; then hoping against hope, as it seemed, for the day when, 
like them, I would be a soldier indeed." J. S. Wise, place cited, 463. 

'■J. S. Wise, pp. 462, 463. 

8 J. S. Wise, p. 463 ; Upshur, p. 10. 



THE CADETS 



17 



soldiers there; but that if need arose he would call for them.'"' 
Then came Sigel's advance upon Staunton, the dread that he 
would destroy the all-important railroads, the hurried advance 
of Breckinridge to oppose him, and the concentration around 
Staunton. On May 2 General Smith wrote to Breckinridge 
reporting the condition and readiness of his pupils." At last 
on the night of May 10 the summons came, and early on the 
morning of the nth the Cadets marched out to battle. ^^ 

The conflict at New Market was an important action, but 
it was not one of the great battles of the Civil War. And 
yet, such was the stirring- and romantic character of its inci- 

9 Upshur, p. 7. 

10 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 707, 708, 730. 
^^Ibid., 89. Cf. the vivid and somewhat imaginative description of 

J. S. Wise, place cited, 464, 465 : "The last rays faded upon the neighbor- 
ing peak of House Mountain. The evening gun boomed out upon the 
stillness. The colors of the Institute dropped lazily from their staff. 
Never in all her history seemed Lexington and her surroundings more 
gently beautiful, more calmly peaceful. Such was the sunset hour of that 
lovely day on which we sought our cots, almost forgetful of the troubled 
world elsewhere. At midnight, save in the guard-room at the sally- 
port, every light had disappeared. Suddenly the barracks reverberated 
with the throbbing of drums ; we awoke and recognized the long roll. 
Lights were up ; the stoops resounded with the rush of footsteps seeking 
place in the ranks; the adjutant, by lantern-light, read our orders amid 
breathless silence. They told us that the enemy was in the valley, that 
Breckinridge needed help, and that we were ordered to march for Staun- 
ton at daybreak — a battalion of infantry and a section of artillery — with 
three days rations. Not a sound was uttered, not a man moved from the 
military posture of 'parade rest.' Our beating hearts told us that our 
hour had come at last. 

" 'Parade's dismissed,' piped the adjutant. Then came a wild halloo, 
as company after company broke ranks. Again in fancy I see the excited 
rush of that gay throng, eager as greyhounds in the leash, hurrying back 
and forth, preparing for the start, forgetful that it would be six hours 
before they should march." 



1 8 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

dents, and such was the glory attending the victors, that it 
has always been much written about and much discussed. Par- 
ticularly is this so in connection with the work done by the 
Cadets of the Virginia Institute. The veteran sons of that old 
school have never tired of writing and talking of their deeds 
on the 15th of May. They have told again and again of their 
march, and their charge, and of the comrades who laid down 
their lives, until there has been amassed a literature manuscript 
and printed, rich in controversy, but exhaustive and minute. 

Thus it is known that before daybreak of the nth the 
march was begun down the pike.^" It rained intermittently 
throughout the day, and when on the evening of the 12th the 
Corps halted near Staunton, the Cadets were foot-sore, muddy, 
and tired. ^^ Here they united with the Confederate forces 
which had been hurrying up the Valley, and made ready for 
the approaching struggle. Evening found them in the shadow 
of impending battle, for one courier after another arrived with 
tidings that Sigel was steadily advancing in strong force. ^■^ 

12 Captain Frank Preston. Company B of the Cadet Corps, writing 
a few days after the battle, thus describes the march : "We left you on 
Wednesday of last week, marching to Midway the first day, we slept in 
the rain, and the next day, in a drenching rain, we made our way through 
mud and water to Staunton. From Staunton we marched to near Har- 
risonburg, and the next day to within seven miles of this place. At mid- 
night we were roused and started on the road to New Market." Letter 
written on May 19 to a member of his family, and published in the Lex- 
ington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

13 MS. letter of Louis C. Wise (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 26, 1909. 
1* "Sigel is reported to have about 4,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. 

This information is uncertain, and probably exaggerated." Colonel George 
H. Smith to Breckinridge, May 9, 1864, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVH, 
part I, 726. "My scouts . . . report Sigel's whole force on the move 
up the Valley. . . . Citizens accustomed to estimating the number of 
troops reported to them 10,000 infantry, but this I am satisfied is an ex- 



THE CADETS 1 9 

Nevertheless that evening Breckinridge determined to move 
forward. On the 13th the march was continued, bringing the 
army to Harrisonburg. On the 14th progress was resumed 
down the pike along which were streaming vehicles and wagons 
laden with people fleeing from the enemy.^^ The weather was 
wretched, for the rain continued to fall, at times in torrents.'^* 
The road was slippery, and the ploughed fields were a sea of 
mud." Toward nightfall the Confederates reached Lacey's 
Spring. Less than ten miles beyond the Federal forces were 
encamped at New Market. 

aggeration." Captain T. S. Davis to Breckinridge, May 10, 1864, ibid., 
yiy. "They have now tw^enty-eight pieces artillery ... a very large 
proportion, but correct. The whole force is 6,000 men." Captain T. S. 
Davis to Breckinridge, May 11, 1864, ibid., 729. "Their force is not over 
6,000 — 2,000 cavalry, and twenty-eight pieces of artillery, and the rest in- 
fantry." Colonel George H. Smith to Breckinridg^, May 11, 1864, ibid., 
730. Cf. J. S. Wise, place cited, 465. 

1^ J. S. Wise, ibid. 

"J. Stoddard Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 4. W. M. Pat- 
ton (C) describing the march, says: "We marched the first day from 
Lexington to Midway, camping that night in the neighboring woods, the 
next night we camped just west of Staunton. I recall one of the worst 
rains that night that I ever experienced. We had few tents, and all hands 
got soaked. I think it then continued until the day after the battle to rain, 
almost continuously, and at times very hard." MS. letter to Henry A. 
Wise, June 10, 1895. "At twelve o'clock on the night of the 14th re- 
ceived orders to prepare to march immediately ... we remained on 
the side of the road two or three hours in the midst of a heavy fall of 
rain." Report of Lieut. -Col. Scott Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 89. The Federal soldiers suffered also. Cf. ibid., 85. 
"Were in camp all forenoon. Raining all the time." MS. Diary of J. F. 
Klingaman (S4th Pennsylvania Regiment, Company C), May 14, 1864. 

17 MS. letter of G. T. Lee (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 15, 1909. 



CHAPTER III. 
The Struggle for Position. 

GENERAL BRECKINRIDGE was playing a bold game. 
When ordered to the Valley his objective had been 
Staunton. This place, so important because of its magazines 
and hospitals, and because it was the key to the rich country 
from which came supplies for the army of Northern Virginia, 
General Lee desired him to protect.^ Against Staunton Sigel 
was advancing, but Brenckinridge had reached it first, and was 
able to concentrate his forces there on May 12 while his op- 
ponent Avas still some distance away. What course should he 
follow ? Entrench himself before the town, and wait there to 
be attacked?^ His forces numbered less than 5,000 men. The 
enemy outnumbered him, and this was known certainly by the 
Confederates.^ Yet Breckinridge determined to go forward 
and seek the foe.'* His course was justified by such brilliant 
success that nothing may be said in disparagement now ; and 
yet one cannot but believe that had the Federal forces been 
properly managed, and had they been handled nearly so well 

^ "Staunton with its hospitals and suppHes of every Icind, the key to 
the Valley" . . . J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 5. 

2 "General Breckinridge, in the meantime, had his wagon-train sup- 
plied with commissary stores, and, while all thought he would fortify and 
await the approach of Sigel, he determined to advance and meet him in 
the open field." Ibid., 3, 4. 

3 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 726, 727, 729, 730. See 
below, Appendix A, p. 116, for estimates by Confederates. 

* He still desired to choose a position and there wait to be attacked. 
See below, p. 24. 

20 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 21 

as the Confederate forces were, then the attempt of Breckin- 
ridge might well have ended in crushing disaster. 

On the morning of the 13th he had set out down the pike, 
and by nightfall had reached Mount Crawford. On the 14th 
he marched to Lacey's Spring, thirty-five miles from Staun- 
ton, and close to Sigel.^ That night he determined to take 
up a good position and wait to be attacked by the Federal 
army,® And so silently in the rain and the darkness his men 
made ready to march once more.^ Before daybreak they 
had 'taken possesion of Shirley's Hill a little to the south of 
New Market. 

To the Cadets the scene was dramatic and intense, so that 
those who were present have never forgotten it. Members of 
the Corps still tell how sometime after midnight the order 
came to move out;^ how in the gloom and confusion roll w^as 

^ Breckinridge, Report. 

^ "Being convinced that the enemy was advancing in comparative 
confidence, I determined not to await his coming, but to march to meet 
him and give him battle wherever found." Ibid. 

■^ Breckinridge probably intended also to annoy the enemy by night 
attacks. General Imboden relates that on the night of the 14th he led the 
62d Regiment through the orchards and fields close to the Federal camp 
at New Market, intending to surprise it. MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, 
June 6, 1895. Colonel Moor, commanding the troops in New Market on 
the evening of the 14th, says : "At about 8 P. M. a line of rebels ap- 
proached across an open field on my right front with the evident purpose 
to turn the position I had occupied before sunset. I instructed Major 
Stephens, commanding First West Virginia Regiment, to allow the rebels 
to come near enough and give them a volley, which order was well exe- 
cuted. About two hours later my whole front was attacked and for a 
few minutes the firing became general. The rebels, however, had to re- 
treat in confusion, losing 5 killed and many more wounded. No furthej* 
annoyance occurred that night." War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII. part 
I, 79, 80. 

® "We retired for the night in a church ; but we had scarcely fallen 
asleep, when we were aroused to get up and go to the front ; the usual 



22 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

called as the men stood sleepily in ranks; how just before the 
march began, Captain Frank Preston at the instance of Colonel 
Shipp besought divine comfort and guidance; how Colonel 
Shipp addressed them briefly ; and how a little later they went 
splashing through the mud down the road toward the enemy.^ 
In topography the scene of the battle of New Market has 
some resemblance to that which has characterized so many 
battle-grounds where opposing forces have met each other in 
rolling country. The hostile armies confronted each other 
from two low ridges. It was so at Agincourt and at Waterloo ; 
it was so at Fredericksburg and at Gettysburg. 

roll not being sounded as we were too near the enemy." MS. letter of 
Lawrence Royster (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 12. 1895. Also MS. letter 
of W. Kemp (C) to General James A. Goggin, March 25, 1888. 

s Cf. J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Confederacy," place cited, 
466: "But soon the silence was broken only now and then by the fall of 
a passing shower, or the champing of the colonel's horse upon his prov- 
ender. 

"I was corporal of the guard. A single sentinel stood post, while the 
guard and drummers lay stretched before the watch-fire in deep, refresh- 
ing sleep. It was an hour past midnight when I caught the sound of 
hoofs upon the pike advancing at a trot, and a moment later the call of 
the sentry brought me to him, where I "found an aide bearing orders from 
the commanding general. On being aroused our commandant rubbed his 
eyes, muttered, 'Move forward at once,' and ordered me: to rouse the 
camp. The rolls were rattled off; the short, crisp commands went forth, 
and soon the battalion debouched upon the pike, heading in the darkness 
and the mud for New Market. 

"Before we left our camp something occurred that even now may be 
a solace to those whose boys died so gloriously on that day. In the gloom 
of the night. Captain Frank Preston, neither afraid nor ashamed to pray, 
sent up an appeal to God for protection to our little band. It was a 
humble, earnest appeal that sunk into the heart of every hearer. Few 
were the dry eyes, little the frivolity, in the command, when he had ceased 
to speak of home, of father, of mother, of country, of victory and defeat, 
of life, of death, of eternity. Those who, but a few hours later, heard 



:; r!,^JI!^,»^:j»««j(jl|k.v.^_., ..urJSf. 



HDUOHHT oxmvrjH aa: 



THE VALLEY TURNPIKE RUNNING THROUGH 
NEW MARKET TOWN. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 23 

In 1864 the town of New Market consisted of two or three 
rows of houses built along the turnpike which runs northeast 
through the Shenandoah Valley. It possessed a certain strate- 
gic importance in that it lay at the intersection of the Valley 
turnpike and the road which runs to Luray.^** To the west of 
the pike is the north fork of the Shenandoah. At the river 
there are high bluffs from which the land slopes gradually 
down towards the pike ; while from New Market the country 
rising slowly to the north and abruptly to the southwest cul- 
minates in two hills on which at one time or another the oppos- 
ing armies made their stand. To the south the Confederates 
were posted on Shirley's Hill, to the north the Federal forces 
occupied Bushong's Hill and, at the close of the battle, Rude's 
Hill, some distance to the rear. In 1864 these hills were pas- 
tures and wheat-fields, intersected now and then by fences and 
stone walls. Between Shirley's Hill and Bushong's Hill in 
one place there was a shallow ravine. The scene which was 
closed by the river-bluffs on the west was shut in on the east 
by the Massanutten Mountain, a mile or more to the east of the 
pike, approach to which was rendered difficult by intervening 
marshes and woodlands." Between the pike and the mountain 
Smith's Creek, a small stream, flows northward to empty into 

him commanding 'B' company in the thickest of the fight, his alreadjt 
empty sleeve showing that he was no stranger to the perilous edge of 
battle, realized as few can, how the same voice can at one time plead 
reverently and tenderly and at another pipe higher than the roar of bat- 
tle." Also MS. letter of W. M. Patton (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 10, 
1895; MS. letter of Gideon Davenport (C) to Preston Cocke (C), Jan. 
28, 1895. 

10 G. E. Pond, The Shenandoah Valley in 1864, pp. 18, 19. 

1^ Cf. the descriptions of Brigadier-General John D. Imboden, "The 
Battle of New Market," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 481 ; 
Breckinridge, Report; Colonel George H. Smith, "More of the Battle of 



24 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



the Shenandoah. On the west, then, was the river, on the east 
the mountain, to the north and to the south the hills seized 
by the hostile forces; down the middle ran the turnpike; and 
in the center lay the town of New Market. 

During the day preceding, May 14, the Confederates under 
Imboden had been resisting the advance of the Federal troops ; 
but after sharp skirmishing they had been forced to fall back 
before what they reported as overwhelming numbers,^" and the 
van of the Federal army had crossed the river.^'^ This was 
while Imboden, going to meet General Breckinridge, had left 
Colonel George H. Smith of the 62d Virginia in command. 
Imboden says that the advance of the Federals had been so 
cautious that he did not believe that Sigel would cross the 
Shenandoah on the 14th. When this occurred, however, he 
galloped back with orders to hold the town at all hazards. 
He found that Colonel Smith had admirably disposed his 
troops. New Market was held during the day, and an artil- 
lery duel maintained with the enemy.'^ On the evening of 
the 14th Breckinridge ordered Imboden to continue falling 
back,^^ hoping thus to lure Sigel on to attack the Confederate 

New Market," Confederate Veteran, XVI, 569, 570 (November, 1908) ; 
Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 7; Captain 
Frank Preston, in Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

12 Upshur, "Address." Nezu Market Day, 12, says: "Imboden . . . 
had gradually fallen back, having taken some prisoners, some of which 
were seen on their way up the Valley" . . . John S. Wise, "The West 
Point of the Confederacy," Battles and Leaders of the Cknl War, IV, 
465, says : "Now and then a haggard trooper, dispirited by long skirmish- 
ing against overwhelming force, would gloomily suggest the power and 
numbers of the enemy." 

13 See above, p. 6. 

1* Imboden. "The Battle of New Market," place cited, IV, 4S2. 
1^ Breckinridge, Report. 



THE STRVGGLE FOR POSITION 25 

army in some strong position south of New Market.^® In 
this he failed, for by the morning of the 15th the Federal forces 
liad occupied the town, and from thence advanced no farther, 
except that the skirmish line was sent a little to the south." 
That Breckinridge still desired to be attacked is shown by the 
fact that he ordered Imboden forward to charge the enemy 
and then retreat, hoping thus to lure them into a pursuit. 
Imboden tried it a number of times, but in vain.^® This being 
so, Breckinridge true to the plan which he had so far followed, 
took the initiative once more, and made ready for an attack 
on the enemy in their own position. ^^ 

IS Imboden asserts that he desired that the Confederate army be 
posted in a certain strong position about two miles behind New Market, 
and there wait to be attacked. Letter to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 
Cf. Upshur, "Address," Neiv Market Day, 13. 

i'^ Breckinridge, Report. 

1^ Letter of Imboden to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. "Breckinridge 
took up a defensive position, choosing the best ground available ; and the 
ground afforded a pretty good position, being flanked by wooded hillsj 
from which an approaching column, down the hill on which the tow^n is 
situated, and across the flat, would have received a deadly fire." MS. 
letter of Lieut.-Colonel George M. Edgar to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896. 

^^ General Imboden says : "The whole country for two or three miles 
lay before and below, like a map, and a few words of explanation from 
me as to the roads, streams, etc., enabled General Breckinridge to grasp 
it all ; and he remarked after five minutes study of the scene, 'We can 
attack and whip them here, and I'll do it.' " "The Battle of New 
Market," place cited, IV, 483. "Gen. B. Looked the country over carefully, 
took out his watch, and said : . . . 'It's now eleven o'clock, and we 
can't wait any longer for them to attack us.' " Captain J. W^. Parsons, 
Confederate Veteran, XVII, 119 (March, 1909). "He waited for Sigel 
to advance until about ten o'clock, when I heard him say : 'Well, I have 
offered him battle and he declines to advance on us, I shall advance on 
him.' " Letter of Lieut. -Col. George M. Edgar to Henry A. Wi.'^e, Feb. 18, 
1896. "On the morning of the fight Breckinridge seemed at first to have 
intended standing on the defensive; as we took a position some distance 



26 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Sunday, May 15, the day of the battle, was gloomy and 
disagreeable. During the previous days it had rained almost 
without ceasing, and that morning there was a steady down- 
pour. The air was moist and close; everything was wet and 
dripping. Underfoot the roads were miry; the fields were a 
slough of soft mud.^° 

The battle of New Market may be divided into three parts : 
first, the struggle between the Confederates and the first or 
advanced portion of the Federal army, for the most part an 
artillery duel, lasting for an hour or more just before mid- 
day ;^^ second, the struggle between the advancing Confed- 
erates and the larger part of the Federal army, posted in its 
chosen position on Bushong's Hill to the north of the town; 
and third, the pursuit of the Federal forces to Rude's Hill and 
afterwards until they had crossed the Shenandoah River. 

In the arrangement and handling of his troops Brenckin- 
ridge displayed dexterity and judgment. While yet upon 
Shirley's Hill he marched and countermarched his men in sight 

back of the town, and commenced strengthening it, as well as we could, 
with fence-rails, etc. But while thus engaged, the order came to ad- 
vance" . . . MS. letter of Colonel George H. Smith to Henry A. 
Wise, March 7, 1896. Also Breckinridge, Report. 

20 "The rains, which had fallen more or less about every day since 
we left Lexington, gave us a thorough drenching on the 14th, and did not 
hold up for us on the 15th. The roads and fields were very wet, the 
ploughed fields almost mir)^, so that to march across the fields even at 
slow time was hard work, and at double quick, exhausting. The sky was 
overcast all day, and there were several hard showers, and a heavy, damp 
atmosphere all day." MS. letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
April 14, 1909. Also J. S. Wise, place cited, 466. 

21 The battle began at eleven o'clock, or very shortly before. Cf. 
report of Major Henry Peale, i8th Connecticut Regiment, War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVn, part I, 81. Very probablj^, however, there was some 
artillery firing before this. See below, p. 29, note 36. 



y3J.IAV 3HT 
YTWi TUOav 
3V10 VI Al: 
^H3Vm HAjo: 




VIEW OF Shirley's hill from the valley 

TURNPIKE. THE SUMMIT IS HERE ABOUT FIFTY 
FEET ABOVE THE ROAD, AND MORE THAN ONE 
HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE SHENANDOAH RIVER^ 
WHICH IS BEYOND THE CREST IN THE BACK- 
GROUND. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 



27 



of the enemy with the purpose, it would seem, of magnifying 
his numbers."" Having made his army seem more numerous 
than it really was, he completed the deception by arranging his 
troops in three lines. The first line consisted of the 51st Vir- 
ginia Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Wolfe"^ and the 62d Vir- 
ginia Regiment,"^ Colonel George H. Smith, these regiments 
being under the command of Brigadier-General Gabriel C. 
Wharton ;^^ the second line was made up of the 22d Virginia 
Regiment, Colonel George Patton and the 23d Virginia Bat- 
talion, Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence Derrick;-" the third and 
last line comprised the 26th Virginia Battalion, Lieutenant- 
Colonel George M. Edgar, and the Cadets of the Virginia 
Military Institute, Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp.^^ The 
Federal commanders, already exaggerating the number of the 
enemy, became convinced that they were even more numer- 

22 "After maneuvering the regiments and battalions in a way that 
suggested that he was playing the old strategic trick of countermarching 
his men with the view of multiplying their numbers in the eyes of the 
enemy." . . . Lieut. -Col. George M. Edgar, MS. Notes upon the Battle 
of New Market. 

23 Colonel Forsberg, commander of the 51st, was on the day of the 
battle sick in the hospital at Lynchburg. MS. Forsberg Memoranda. 

2* This regiment had been detached from General Imboden's com- 
mand, to which it belonged. Its members were increased by a company 
of 70 Missourians under Captain Woodson. These men had just been 
exchanged and were on their way home, but in the hour of need joined 
Breckinridge. For the fearful losses of this command, see below, p. 98, 
note 25. 

26 Key, 3. The positions and movements of the commands are in- 
dicated on the map, below, p. 132, and are explained in the key accom- 
panying, below, pp. 132, 133. 

" Key, 2. 

27Kev. I. 



28 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Oils."** Having produced this illusion, Breckinridge changed 
the relative position of his troops as they advanced, so that 
in the second part of the battle they were spread out in one 
long line in echelon. Anticipating what took place afterwards, 
it may be remarked that the first change in the formation was 
made as the troops were marching down the hill : the 26th Bat- 
talion moved from the third to the second line, on the left of 
the 22d Regiment,"^ leaving the Cadets alone in the rear.^" 
Subsequently the 26th Battalion was moved from the left of 
the second line to the extreme left of the first line, to the left 
of the 51st Regiment.^^ The artillery. Chapman's Battery, two 
sections of Jackson's Battery, a section of McClanahan's Bat- 
tery, and the Cadet section, under the command of Major Wil- 
liam C. McLaughlin, was to the right near the turnpike. ^^"^ 

The Federal forces in their first, advanced position, in and 
about New Market, were commanded by Colonel Augustus 
Moor, and consisted of the ist New York Cavalry, the cavalry 
of Colonel John E. Wynkoop, numbering about 300, and made 
up of detachments of the 15th New York, 20th Pennsylvania, 
and 22d Pennsylvania, the 34th Regiment of Massachusetts In- 
fantry, Colonel George D. Wells, the ist West Virginia, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Jacob Weddle, and the 123d Ohio Regiment, 

28 "Xhe enemy in three strong lines now issued from the woods" 
. . . Report of Major Henry Peale, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, 
part I, 82. 

29 Key, 6 1. 

30 Key, 5. 

31 Key, 71. Edgar, Notes upon the Battle of New Market. 

31 a Key, 4. "Chapman's Battery, Jackson's, McClanahan's and a sec- 
tion of artillery manned by the Cadets were all on the field." MS. letter 
of IMicajah Woods (Jackson's Battery) to his father, Mount Jackson, May 
16, 1864. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 29 

Major Horace Kellogg.^" There were also two sections of Bat- 
tery B, Snow's Maryland Artillery, comprising four guns.^^ 
These troops had been sent forward to feel the strength of the 
enemy.^* The events of the battle w^re to prove that this was 
a mistake, for they were not strong enough to make a serious 
resistance to the Confederates, but nevertheless constituted a 
unit so important that Sigel should not have detached it from 
the remainder of his army.^^ 

The battle began with the firing of artillery ^*^ and the ad- 
vance of the Confederate skirmishers, the 30th Virginia Bat- 
talion of Colonel Lyle Clarke, and sharp-shooters, who grad- 
ually drove in the Federal skirmishers from their advanced 
position to the south of New Market."' Meanwhile some of 

32 ii/ar Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 77. Key, 9. 

23 Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, ibid., 79. Key, 8. 

3* War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 79. 

35 Pond, The Shenandoah Valley in 1864, p. 21. 

3c This firing began about 9:30 A. M., according to D. M. Armstrong, 
MS. letter to B. A. Colonna, February 17, 191 1. 

37 Colonel J. Lyle Clarke of the 30th Battalion says : "On May 15th 
I was ordered to the front with my Battalion of sharpshooters, 30th Vir- 
ginia (better known as 'Clarke's Battalion') at 9 A. M., and formed a 
line of skirmishers, advancing until we met the Federal skirmishers 
. . . continuing to 'drive them in' until they formed their first line of 
battle near New Market." MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, March 25, 1895. 
It is certain that these skirmishers were commanded, at least part of the 
time, by Major Peter J. Otey. MS. statement of General G. C. Wharton, 
in possession of Colonel Edgar. Major T. F. Lang of Sigel's Staff, who 
had taken an advanced position for the purpose of observing the Con- 
federate movements, says : "I witnessed a splendid formation ... of 
the Confederates. First was the advance — creeping and dodging from 
point to point . . . their sharp-shooters. Later a line reaching from 
side to side of the Valley, moving forward slowly, cautiously, with inter- 
vals of 12 to 15 feet apart, keeping their alignment as if on dress parade. 
This was the skirmish line. The practiced eye of the veteran soldier knew 



30 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



the Confederates were engaged in throwing up a hasty breast- 
work of rails, brush, and earth, at right angles to the pike, so 
that there might be a line back of which to rally in case of 
need.^^ 

As the Confederate skirmishers advanced down the south- 
ern hill, the artillery ^^ opened fire upon the Federal battery 
posted in the church-yard at the north end of the village.'"' 
Under the accurate and effective fire of the Confederate guns 
the Federal artillerymen were forced to withdraw up the pike. 
The 1 8th Connecticut Regiment had now come up to Moor's 
assistance,*^ and shortly after Major-General Stahel with the 

what this meant, and I did not have long to wait for the meaning. The 
line of battle hove in sight a little south of New Market, and a magnifi- 
cent line it was too." MS. Personal Recollections of the Battle of New 
Market. Cf. Breckinridge, Report; letter of Lieut. -Col. Scott Shipp to 
A. P. Young, April 28, 1873. 

38 MS. letter of W. M. Patton (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 10, 1895. 

38 Key, 4. 

^^ Key, 8. "Three Federal officers rode down the street about noon, 
and ordered me to the cellar, as the shells were then bursting over our 
old town. It was not long before the artillery came thundering down the 
street and turned the corner at the old church." MS. letter of Mrs. E. C. 
Crim of New Market to B. A. Colonna, Dec. 10, 1910. "In a picturesque 
little church-yard, right under the shadow of the village spire and among 
the white tomb stones, a six-gun battery was posted in rear of the in- 
fantry line of the enemy." "The little town, which a moment before had 
seemed to sleep so peacefully upon that Sabbath morn, was now wreathed 
in battle-smoke and swarming with troops hurrying to their positions. 
We had their range beautifully, and every shell, striking some obstruc- 
tion, exploded in the streets." J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Con- 
federacy," place cited, 466, 467. "We could see this smoke and hear the 
guns of our infantry in the streets of New Market as they drove the enemy 
slowly retiring." MS. letter of B. A. Colonna to Henry A. Wise, April 
14, 1909. 

" Report of Major Peale, i8th Connecticut Infantry, War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 81, 82. 



,$'' ^.■ttwj^f* .:;3 ;», ■«;.. 






-HTUJ SHT ^O Tg7!V/ YJ3T. 



plateau immediately west of the luth- 
eran cemetery^ and near the turnpike. 
Shirley's hill is in the background. 







*.•' ^ 










'TEE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 3 1 

remainder of the cavalry." There was some fighting in the 
streets of New Market and about the town, but shortly after 
noon General Sigel arrived upon the scene, and decided to 
form his lines upon the hill to the north of the town. Accord- 
ingly the Federal troops abandoned their first position.*^ 
Thereupon Breckinridge took possession of New Market.** 
This part of the engagement was followed by heavy artillery 
firing on both sides, which lasted for some time, but did com- 
paratively little damage.*^ 

The second part of the battle began between one and two 
o'clock in the afternoon*® with the renewed advance of the 
Confederates, and culminated in their assault on the strong 
position occupied by the Federal army upon Bushong's Hill. 

*2 Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, ibid., 80. 

*3 Ibid. The reports of the Federal commanders in regard to this 
movement and the fighting which preceded it are meager and somewhat 
confused. Ibid., 79-83. Also MS. letter of A. J. Gilbert (123d Ohio Regi- 
ment) to B. A. Colonna, Dec. 21, 1910. 

** Breckinridge, Report. 

45 J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 8. 'The artillery duel 
still continued with considerable vigor, and the enemy shelled our line 
with great accuracy, although without the infliction of any considerable 
damage." Report of Major Peale, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, 
part I, 82. "At this moment, say 12 130 P. M., the main body of our artil- 
lery . . . was pouring a steady fire into the enemy. They were en- 
veloped in smoke, and made lots of noise." Letter of B. A. Colonna (C) 
to Henry A. Wise, April 14, 1909. J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New 
Market, 9; MS. letter of J. B. Baylor (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 
1909. 

46 This I judge from an account written by H. A. Du Pont, MS. letter 
to Lieut. -Col. Edgar, October i, 1908. Edgar believes that it was about two 
o'clock. Critical Notes upon the Battle of New Market. Cf. also the 
report of Lieut. -Col. Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 90 ; 
ibid.. 80. 



32 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



This part of the battle was a more general engagement than 
the first part had been. It was marked by the daring general- 
ship of Breckinridge, who was able to force back his opponent 
from a position of strength, because he hurled forward nearly 
every soldier he had, while the Federals were poorly massed 
and partly scattered. Moreover the Confederate soldiers 
fought with eager, desperate valor, while in Sigel's army, 
though some of the men were brave and steady and veteran 
troops, others did little more than meet the first onset. 

Up to this time although the Cadet artillery had done good 
service in helping to silence the Federal battery in New Mar- 
ket,^' the Cadet Corps had taken no part, but had been held in 
the rear as a reserve. It is very probable that Breckinridge 
did not wish to expose these youths, few of whom were more 
than eighteen years old, while one was only fourteen.** Dur- 
ing the march the youthful appearance of the Cadets had made 
them the butt of ridicule on the part of the older soldiers.*' 

*" J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Confederacy," place cited, 467. 

■** "The general having determined to receive the attack of the enemy, 
made his dispositions for battle, posting the corps in reserve. He informed 
me that he did not wish to put the Cadets in if he could avoid it, but that 
should occasion require it, he would use them very freely. He was also 
pleased to express his confidence in them, and I am happy to believe that 
his expectations were not disappointed, for when the tug of battle came 
they bore themselves gallantly and well." Report of Lieut.-Col. Scott 
Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVH. part I. 89, 90. "General Breck- 
inridge rode along in front of our line, and said he hoped that he would 
not have to put us into any hot places." MS. letter of P. B. Hiden (C) 
to Henry A. Wise, May 6, 1909. Henry H. Harrison (CJ says that in 
1865 General Breckinridge told him that he "had tried hard to keep them 
out of harm's way." Winchester Times, clipping. J. B. Baylor, Com- 
pany D, was fourteen. MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1909. Also 
letter of General Francis H. Smith to Mrs. Susan R. Hull, in (Baltimore 
Evening") Nc-zvs, ]\Iarch 23, 1895. 

*^ "The youthful character of the Cadets made Breckinridge hesitate 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 33 

Now, however, when the Confederate commander marshalled 
his scanty numbers it was impossible for him to spare any of 
his forces, and the Cadets were ordered to the immediate rear of 
the main lines, so that as the army went forward they also 
came under fire. This order they had awaited eagerly, as 
there were few of them who did not burn to take part in 
the fight. When most of them were sent ahead, some who had 
been left on guard duty in the rear, went forward notwithstand- 
ing and so joined their comrades on the march. '^'^ It is said 
that this was the only instance of disobedience on their part 
at any time during the battle. 

to put them into action. In fact, he had quite made up his mind to place 
them in charge of the baggage-train, and when several of the Cadets, 
learning that this was contemplated, pleaded so earnestly with him, he 
abandoned the idea. They said they had been called out several times 
and assigned to that duty, and on their return to Lexington, had been 
jeered with such remarks as 'Now the war is over; there comes the 
baggage-guard,' and gibes even more stinging. There was no resisting 
the fervor of their appeal to be put into action" . . . J. S. Johnston, 
The Battle of New Market, 6. "Previous to that you may recollect how 
our old veterans guyed you boys, calling you 'new issue,' and asking you if 
'your mommies knew you were out,' etc., etc., all of which was taken in 
good part." MS. letter of T. C. Morton, 26th Virginia Battalion, to 
Henry A. Wise, Feb. 12, 1896. Also MS. letter of T. W. Preston (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, May 11, 1909. 

^^ "Up to this time I was still corporal of the guard, in charge of the 
baggage-wagon, with a detail of three men. . . . We had not been 
relieved in the general bustle and confusion. My orders were to re- 
main with the wagons at the bend in the pike. . . . When it became 
evident that a battle was imminent, a single thought took possession of 
me, and that was, that I would never be able to look my father in the 
face again if I sat on a baggage-wagon while my command was in its first, 
perhaps its only, engagement. . . . My oration . . . ran about this 
wise : 'Boys, the enemy is in our front. Our command is about to go into 
action. ... I shall join the command forthwith. Anyone who chooses 
to remain may do so.' All the guard followed. The wagon was left in 



24 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Breckinridge's troops were now drawn up in two lines,^^ 
which later in the battle were shifted into one.^" To deceive 
the enemy and make his command appear more numerous these 
lines were arranged in echelon, the more advanced portion on 
the side of the river slightly overlapping the second part over 
*:oward the turnpike.^' The Corps of the Cadets remained 

charge of the black driver. Of the four who thus went, one was killed 
and two were wounded." J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Confed- 
eracy," place cited, 467, 468. 

51 Key, 71, 7, 61, 6. 

52 See below, p. 57. 

53 "Upon the crest of this hill I formed my left of Wharton's Brig- 
ade. The Corps of Cadets was placed in the centre, and Echols with his 
right resting upon the turnpike completed my line of battle, which it will 
be seen was a single one without reserves." Breckinridge, Report. This 
is one of the many misleading statements which have been made about the 
Confederate tactics. Some of those who wrote seem to have forgotten 
the Confederate arrangements or not to have comprehended them. "We 
had but one line in two ranks, with no reserves." J. S. Johnston, The 
Battle of New Market, 7. "Here General Breckinridge sent for me and 
gave me in person my instructions. The general's plans seem to have 
undergone some modification. Instead of one line with a reserve, he 
formed his infantry in two, artillery in rear and to the right, the cavalry 
deployed and guarding the right flank, left flank resting on a stream. 
Wharton's brigade of infantry constituted the first line ; Echols' brigade 
the second. Tlie battalion of Cadets, brigaded with Echols, was the last 
battalion but one from the left of the second line, Edgar's battalion be- 
ing on the left." Report of Lieut.-Col. Scott Shipp, in War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 90. "On the left was our whole force of 
infantry, drawn up in two long lines" . . . Captain Frank Preston, in 
Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. "I recall that there were two lines and 
we were in the rear one." MS. letter of Andrew Pizzini, Jr., (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, March 30, 1909. "The Confederate army was formed 
in two lines of battle, the Cadet battalion being in the second line, two 
hundred yards in rear of the first." MS. letter of Gideon Davenport 
to Preston Cocke, Jan. 28, 1895. Also MS. letter of Lawrence Royster 
(C) to Henry A. Wise, Jan. 12, 1895. 



I 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 35 

slightly to the rear of the left of the second hne."* Beyond 
the turnpike, farther over to the right, was what remained of 
Jmboden's cavahy,''" the i8th and 23d Virginia Regiments, 
McNeill's Rangers, and four guns of McClanahan's battery, 
these troops, as will appear, acting separately. The larger part 
of the Confederate artillery, under McLaughlin, was advanced 
along the turnpike, moving forward with the army, and firing 
from convenient positions. 

The Federal army was by this time drawn up in its second 
position on the hills to the north of the town. Its position was 
one of great natural strength in that the right was guarded 
by a precipitous slope thickly wooded leading down to the 
river ; the left, which sloped down to the pike, was partly pro- 
tected by cedar thickets and woods which extended over to 
Smith's Creek and beyond to the mountains ; the center was 
fronted by cleared ground, consisting of a wheat-field, on that 
day deep with mud.^*^ In part the Federal lines were protected 
by a stone wall.^'^ 

In drawing up his army Sigel followed the plan which had 
characterized his tactics throughout. His troops were still 
scattered, but those which had arrived upon the scene he 
divided into two parts, a small force near the pike constituting 
his first line, the larger part of his army, several hundred 
yards in the rear, extending from the pike over to the river 
blufifs, constituting the second. The advanced line was to 

'^^ Key, 5. 

ss Key, 10. The 626. Virginia Regiment was part of Imboden's com- 
mand, but had been dismounted and placed with Wharton. MS. letter of 
Brig.-General Imboden to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 

S6 MS. letter of Major Peter J. Otey to Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, 
April 14, 1873. 

5^ J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 9. 



36 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



break the Confederate strength, the hinder one was to win the 
battle. It must be said that this arrangement was unfortunate, 
perhaps because of the men upon whom it depended. When 
tactics fail, it is all too easy to criticise them in the light of 
their failure, and not in terms of their real value. It is quite 
true moreover that Breckinridge, who won the battle, drew up 
his army in several lines. This was done, however, as a tem- 
porary expedient, and to deceive the enemy. As his men went 
forward, Breckinridge maneuvered them into one powerful 
line. With Sigel the arrangement was not so much a temporary 
expedient as a settled plan of battle. After all Sigel may have 
made no mistake. Had the men of the first line offered a stern 
resistance, the advancing Confederates might easily have been 
defeated by the men of the second. As it was, the foremost 
regiments fled almost at the first onset, carrying confusion to 
those behind them. 

In taking up this new position the Federal commands were 
shifted considerably. In the first position Moor had had one 
regiment of his own brigade, the 123d Ohio, and two from 
Thoburn's Brigade, the ist West Virginia and the 34th Mas- 
sachusetts.^** Now in the rearrangement the parts of the two 
brigades seem to have been united again, so far as they had 
come upon the scene. 

The first line was held by the First Brigade, Colonel Au- 
gustus Moor. It consisted of the 123d Ohio Regiment, Major 
Horace Kellogg, the left of which rested upon the pike, and 
the 1 8th Connecticut Regiment, Major Henry Peale, extend- 
ing to the right.^'* To the left of this line was the battery of 
Captain Von Kleiser, consisting of six twelve-pound Napoleon 

68 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 79, 81. 

'>9Key. 12. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR POSITION 37 

guns.®" The remainder of Moor's Brigade, the 28th Ohio 
Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Gottfried Becker, and the 11 6th 
Ohio Regiment, Colonel James Washburn, had not yet arrived 
upon the field, and took no part in the conflict. 

In the second line, four hundred or more yards to the rear 
of the first, Sigel disposed the commands of the Second Brig- 
ade, Colonel Joseph Thoburn, the greater part of his available 
forces. Far over on the right, almost by the bluffs of the 
Shenandoah, Sigel placed the larger part of his artillery, the 
batteries commanded respectively by Captain John Carlin and 
Captain Alonzo Snow, each consisting of six three-inch rifled 
guns.®^ To the left of these batteries were the 34th Massa- 
chusetts Regiment, Colonel George D. Wells, the ist West 
Virginia Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Weddle, and the 
54th Pennsylvania Regiment, Colonel Jacob M. Campbell.'''^ 
To the left was the battery of Captain Chatham T. Ewing, con- 
sisting of four three-inch guns.®^ This line extended from the 

^'' Key, I2C. Sigel states that Von Kleiser's Battery was between the 
i8th Connecticut and the 123d Ohio. "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," 
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. Colonel Moor, however, 
says : "I was now ordered ... to form the One hundred and twenty- 
third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Eighteenth Connecticut on 
the right of a battery." IVar Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. 
MS. letter of Captain H. A. Du Pont to Lieut.-'Col. Edgar, October i, 1908. 

^^ Key, 21. Sigel, "Sigel in the; Shenandoah Valley," Battles and 
Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. Part of Snow's Battery had been 
with Moor in the first position. In the second position its place was 
taken by the battery of Captain Von Kleiser. 

^- Key, 23. Sigel, ibid. The 54th Pennsylvania, after making a forced 
march from Mount Jackson, was able to take its place in line about 2 
P. M., just before the Confederates began their attack. MS. letter of 
J. F. Klingaman (Company C, 54th Pennsylvania Regiment) to B. A. 
Colonna, Jan. 26, 191 1. 

®3 Key, 24. Sigel, ibid. 



og THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Shenandoah River on its right to the turnpike and beyond on 
its left.^^ Farther to the left and beyond the turnpike was 
the Federal cavalry under Major-General Julius Stahel.®'^ To 
support Snow's and Carlin's batteries one company of the 34th 
jNIassachusetts was stationed in the woods by the Shenan- 
doah.^*' Some distance behind the 34th Massachusetts and the 
1st West Virginia the 12th West Virginia Regiment, Colonel 
William B. Curtis, was posted as a reserve.®' Far in the rear 
the 28th Ohio Regiment and the 11 6th Ohio Regiment had 
come no farther than Mount Jackson.®^ The battery of Cap- 
tain H. A. Du Pont, six three-inch rifled guns, was also back 
near the river crossing,^* 

So in the second part of the battle, as in the first, Sigel's 
army was handled if not badly, at least not to the best advan- 
tage. His total force was numerically superior to the Confed- 
erate army, but he had not many more men in action than 
Breckinridge, who, though really outnumbered, used nearly all 
of his men in one place at one time. 

64 Yiey, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. 

85 Key, 25. Sigel, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. 

66 Key, 20. Sigel, ibid. 

67 Key, 28. Sigel, ibid. 

68 Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 80. 

69 Letter of Captain H. A. Du Pont to Lieut. -Col. Edgar, October i, 
1908. 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Battle. 

THE battle, which had paused for a while after the dis- 
lodgement of the Federal troops from their first line 
about New Market, was renewed about two o'clock in the 
afternoon^ with the general advance of the Confederate army. 
The artillery, which had already been handled so well, re- 
opened fire from more advanced positions. To the right of 
the infantry Major McLaughlin moved his eight pieces, Chap- 
man's Battery and two guns under Lieutenant Carter Berkeley, 
forward along the pike, the two pieces of the Cadet Corps 
also going with him.^ Still farther to the right the four guns 
under Captain McClanahan taking part in the circuitous move- 

1 This is Edgar's conclusion. Critical Notes upon the Battle of New 
Market. It is approximately sustained by Du Pont, letter to Edgar. Oct. 
I. 1908. Cf. also above, p. 2)7, note 62. It is exceedingly difficult to ascer- 
tain the time at which successive events in the battle occurred. 

* "The artillery, which had been posted on the heights to the south- 
west of the town, became unavailable as it advanced, from the impossi- 
bility of firing over our troops, but General Breckinridge, having ascer- 
tained that to the north of the town and to the right of the pike there 
were good artillery positions, he boldly threw ten pieces of artillery, under 
Major McLaughlin, in this direction, which he accompanied himelf." 
J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 8, 9. "Having begun a flank 
movement to the left about two miles south of New Market, the nature 
of the ground was such as to render it impossible that the artillery should 
continue with the infantry column. I ordered Lieutenant Minge to join 
the general artillery column in the main road and to report to Major Mc- 
Laughlin. After that I did not see the section of artillery until near the 
close of the engagement." Report of Lieut.-Col. Scott Shipp, in War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 90. 

39 



40 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



nient of Imboden, presently to be described, crossed Smith's 
Creek and took up an advanced position over upon the Federal 
left flank.* Thus the placing of the artillery, which was largely 
supervised by Breckinridge, was so ordered that as the battle 
proceeded and the lines went forward, the pieces were from 
time to time limbered up and dragged to the front, forming as 
it were a skirmish line.* A fierce duel now began, for the Fed- 
eral cannon were superbly served. Moreover the Federal gun- 
ners having at first the advantage of position and getting the 
range, directed a terrific fire upon the approaching Confeder- 
ates, sending one shell after another plunging and bursting into 
their ranks. ^ 

The preparations upon Sigel's front were accompanied by 
a movement around the Federal left. The Confederate cav- 
airy® under Imboden on Breckinridge's right was fronted by 
the Federal cavalry^ under Stahel on Sigel's left. Each was 
hidden from the other by an extensive wood which lay in be- 
tween ; and at first it is probable that each was unaware of the 
other's position. Soon, however, Imboden in person with one 
of his stafif went through the forest on foot, and discovered the 
enemy's horsemen posted in close order just beyond.^ He at 
once sent a messenger to General Breckinridge to say that he 
thought he knew a way to cross Smith's Creek unobserved by 
the enemy, and so gain Stahel's flank; and therefore asked per- 

3 Key, 26. Imboden, leUer to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895 ; Sigel, 
place cited, IV, 489. 

*J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 9. 

5 Upshur, "Address," New Market Day, 15. 

6 Key, 10. 

7 Key, 25. 

^ Letter of Imboden to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOHN D. IMBODEN, 
C. S. A. 



THE BATTLE 4 1 

mission to uncover the Confederate right." This was imme- 
diately granted.'"* Taking the i8th Virginia Cavalry, the 
23d Virginia and four pieces of McClanahan's battery, Im- 
boden then moved around the wood to the right to where the 
Luray road crosses the creek, and getting his men over, pro- 
ceeded behind a low hill unobserved by Stahel until he had 
gained a position immediately upon his opponent's flank.'^ 
Here he ordered his guns to be unHmbered and fired as fast 
as they could be served.^^ Imboden himself says that the effect 
of this shell-fire upon the massed squadrons of the enemy was 
startling; that it was as impossible for Stahel to reach Im- 
boden's new position as it was for his horsemen to hold their 
ground under the cannonade;'^ that a part of them broke and 
fled, while the remainder were soon in full retreat to a shel- 
tered position farther to the rear ; and that thereupon McClan- 
ahan turned his fire upon Von Kleiser's Battery, and materi- 
ally assisted in covering the Confederate advance along the 
front. Imboden asserts, and his account is partly borne out 
by Sigel, that this whole movement possessed great importance 
in that the Confederates now held a commanding position 
upon the Federal flank, whence they could pour an enfilading 
fire into the enemy's lines, and where they could not be reached 
by the enemy unless the whole Confederate army were forced 
to retreat.'* 

9 Imboden, letter to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1895. 

1° "His reply through Berkeley was, 'Tell General Imboden as he 
"knows this ground, and I don't, to make any movement he thinks advan- 
tageous, and I will take all the responsibility and consequences.' " Ibid. 

11 Ibid. 

12 Ibid. 

13 Ibid. 

'^*Ibid. Also Imboden, "The Battle of New Market," Battles and 
Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 483, 484. Cf. Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenan- 



42 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



The truth, however, seems to be that this movement was 
ahnost entirely a mistake. Imboden merely took the Confed- 
erate cavalry and a portion of the artillery where they could 
not be used against the enemy. McClanahan's guns did indeed 
send some well directed shots into Stahel's midst, but this fire 
simply caused the Federal horsemen to move out of range, and 
did not prevent them a little later from making a vigorous 
attack upon Derrick and the Confederate right. ^^ The guns 
v/ere probably too far away to do much damage to the rest of 
the Federal army. Had this been otherwise there is little doubt 
that they would soon have been silenced by Ewing or Von 
Kleiser. It will be shown that on the Confederate right Der- 
rick with the 23d Battalion had to cover a wide extent of 
ground with insufficient numbers.^® Here Imboden's men 
might have done good service against Stahel's cavalry. As 
it was they were away where they could be of no service what- 
ever.^' 

Imboden's horsemen accomplished nothing where they 
were. In their station across the creek they were of course 
not able to strike at the enemy. Breckinridge had ordered 
them to complete the circuit around the Federal left, and de- 
stroy the bridge over the Shenandoah in Sigel's rear.^® They 

doah Valley," ibid., IV, 489. note. Imboden's printed account of this mat- 
ter is such as to make it impossible to ascertain when the movement was 
made. It is so inaccurate in many places that its value is comparatively 
small. 

i^Key, 14 b. 

^'^ See below, p. 61. 

1^ Edgar, Critical Notes upon the Battle of New Market ; MS. letter 
of C. W. Humphreys to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 20, 191 1. 

^^ "Brigadier-General Imboden was directed to take position . . . 
with his cavalry ... on the extreme right covering that flank, and 
to use every effort to destroy the bridge across the river in rear of the 



THE BATTLE 



43 



did attempt to do this, but the waters of Smith's Creek were 
so high that they could not recross, and as the sequel will show, 
Sigel retreating reached the bridge unmolested and got his 
army safely across. The Confederate cavalry, therefore, which 
had done such brilliant service in resisting the Federal advance 
l)efore Breckinridge arrived, may be said to have done almost 
nothing on the day when the battle of New Market was 
fought.^'* 

After Imboden had gained the Federal flank and while his 
cavalry was seeking to get in the enemy's rear, the decisive 
struggle took place north of New Market town, where the two 
armies joined battle. A general advance had begun all along 
the Confederate front, and Sigel prepared to make a final and 
desperate stand in his lines along Bushong's Hill. 

The second stage of the battle is made up of two parts : 
first, the defeat of the Federal line posted near the turnpike on 
the Federal left, somewhat in advance of Sigel's other regi- 
ments; secondly, the struggle with the second line, placed far- 
ther back, and with the Federal cavalry east of the pike. The 
first task was accomplished easily; the second only after a des- 
perate contest. 

When the Confederates renewed their advance between one 

enemy with a view to cut off his retreat in case of a reverse to his arms." 
Breckinridge, Report. Long afterwards this was denied by one who was 
well informed as to the circumstances. "I know now, I knew then, that 
Imboden was not expected to cross Smith's Creek or the Shenandoah 
River to burn the bridge at Mount Jackson." MS. letter of Captain G. 
Julian Pratt (i8th Virginia Cavalry) to B. A. Colonna, Nov. 19, 1910. 
Captain Pratt declares that Breckinridge knew that Smith's Creek was 
too high to be forded. 

IS Major Peter J. Otey, describing the battle, says: "I haven't spoken 
of our cavalry as they did nothing." MS. letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Scott 
Shipp, April 14, 1873. 



44 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



and two o'clock, they first encountered the i8th Connecticut 
and the 123d Ohio Reg-iments, supported by Von Kleiser's 
Battery of six guns."** These commands did not make suffi- 
cient resistance. If it is necessary to blame Sigel for having 
his army at this moment in three distinct pieces, one of which 
was too far in the rear to be of any assistance, it is neverthe- 
less not possible to exonerate the men in the most advanced 
fragment, since a sturdier resistance ought to have been made, 
and would probably have caused a different outcome of the 
contest. As it was they gave way after a brief stand. First 
their skirmishers were driven in. Then as the foremost Con- 
federates approached their line, an attempt was made to take 
up a better position some distance in the rear."^ This move- 

20 "I was now ordered to fall back some 800 yards to the rear of my 
first position, and to form the One hundred and twenty-third Regiment 
Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Eighteenth Connecticut on the right of a 
battery. The Eighteenth Connecticut was hardly in line when the rebels 
heralded their advance by their peculiar yell, and advanced in two strong 
lines, by far overlapping our own." Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, 
War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. 

21 "Our skirmishers were driven in, and after a short but resolute 
struggle this line was forced to the rear, which created some confusion 
in the Eighteenth Connecticut Regiment, owing to knee-deep mud, fences, 
out-houses, and stables close to their rear, and the insufficient number of 
officers to control their movements." Report of Colonel Moor, War Rec- 
ords, ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. "It was at this time decided that 
a small knoll some 200 yards to the rear would afford a better position, 
thereby inflicting greater damage upon the enemy, who would be forced 
to pass over an eighth of a mile of nearly level ground before reaching 
our lines. The line accordingly marched in retreat. The new position of 
the regiment was most unfortunate for its efficiency, being in a lane 
backed by barns and two rows of fences. A continuous rain of five days 
had rendered traveling on other than the roads extremely difficult, and 
the men stood knee-deep in mud. . . . The skirmishers of the enemy 
now appeared on the brow of the hill and rapid firing ensued. . . . 
As our skirmishers retired around our flank the line fired several volleys. 



THE BATTLE 45 

ment, which in the face of the advancing foe was a difficult 
one, immediately degenerated into a rout, during which one 
gun is said to have been lost.-- It had consequences all the 
more serious because the men in rushing back threw into dis- 
order the commands posted behind and to the right in the 
second line. Some of the fugitives were rallied and along 
with Stahel's cavalry continued to oppose the Confederate 
right, but others did not come to a halt until they had reached 
Sigel's hindmost regiments near the crossing of the Shenan- 
doah River.^^ 

Thus relieved on their right the Confederates were enabled 
to concentrate their strength upon their left against the Fed- 
eral right, leaving only Derrick's scanty battalion and the 
artillery to oppose the Federal left. 

when, it being apparent that the line of the enemy greatly outnumbered 
our own, and that farther stay in that position was worse than useless, 
the commander of the regiment on the left of the brigade gave the order 
to retreat, which movement was followed by the Eighteenth. The regi- 
ment marched by the flank at double-quick. On emerging from the lane 
Cxi) found itself some distance in the rear of the retreating line, and was 
thereby thrown into some confusion, but with some exceptions the men 
were rallied, and were reformed with the rest of the first line in rear of 
the second line, which now awaited the shock." Report of Major Peale, 
ibid., 82. 

22 Letter of Abraham Park (123d Ohio Regiment) to B. A. Colonna, 
February 16, 191 1. 

23 "My regiment did not reform again until after we had crossed the 
river, and the Confederates had abandoned the pursuit." MS. letter of 
C. H. Richmond (i8th Connecticut Regiment) to B. A. Colonna, Dec. 
13, 1910. As in similar instances the retreat was not without its amusing 
incidents. "I found myself and a comrade, Norman Kelley, in a wheat- 
field. The deep mud greatly interfered with the rapidity of our flight. 
. . . Lieutenant Kerr of Company A, my regiment, who was of a very 
religious turn of mind, came up with us and said, 'Boys, our only chance 
for salvation is to kneel down and pray to God to save us.' But Kelley 
said, 'That's what God gave (us) our legs for, and I'm going to use 
them while I can.'" MS. letter of same, Feb. 10, 1911. 



^^ THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

The Struggle with the second Federal line is made up of 
three important incidents, which, while they were largely 
simultaneous, must yet be treated separately for the sake of 
clearness, and hence will be described approximately in the 
order in which they occurred. They were first, the movement 
of the Confederate left, Wharton's command, the 51st Vir- 
ginia Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Wolfe, and the 26th 
Virginia Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar, against 
the Federal right, as a result of which the Federal line was 
broken, the artillery on the right driven off the field, and the 
Federal position rendered insecure; second, the failure of the 
Federal cavalry on the left to break the Confederate right. 
Derrick with the 23d Virginia Battalion fighting manfully 
against greatly superior numbers, while McLaughlin's artil- 
lery was breaking their offensive power; and third, the des- 
perate charges of what may be called the Confederate center, 
the Cadets, the 22d Virginia Regiment under Colonel Patton, 
and particularly the 62d Virginia Regiment under Colonel 
Smith, against Sigel's center, as a result of which the Federal 
army was forced to retreat from its position. It was in this 
part of the battle that the Cadets of the Virginia Military Li- 
stitute won the laurels of the day. 

It is probable that Breckinridge believed that the key to 
the Federal position was its extreme right. Here the position 
was by nature strongest, and here the ground was highest.^* 
In this place Sigel had posted two powerful batteries with 
strong infantry supports. He had no doubt realized the impor- 
tance of this part of the position and had guarded it accord- 
ingly. Here Breckinridge made ready to strike a hard blow 
with a view to turning the enemy's flank. Accordingly he 

'* Key, 20, 21, 22. 




10 



THE NORTH FORK OF THE SHENANDOAH RIVER, 
AND THE BLUFFS UPON WHICH THE FEDERAL 
RIGHT RESTED. AT THIS POINT THE HEIGHT OF 
THE CLIFF IS ABOUT SIXTY FEET. 



THE BATTLE 



47 



reinforced the 51st Virginia Regiment, which was as yet the 
extreme left of the Confederate army, with the 26th Virginia 
BattaHon, which he moved forward from the second Hne to 
the farthest position on the left of the first. "'^ As showing the 
importance of the movement about to be undertaken, General 
Echols, from whose command the 26th had been taken, put the 
rest of his men under Colonel Patton, and accompanied the 
26th, while just before the advance began General Breckin- 
ridge himself arrived.'^ 

In the part of the field which was to be traversed there 
rises a wooded hill which, at a distance of about a half a mile, 
runs nearly parallel with the pike. The effect of this eminence 
is that here the battlefield is divided into two parts. After 
advancing beyond New Market the line of march of the 26th 
Battalion and part of the 51st Regiment was to the west of 
the ridge. For the most part these men were out of sight of 
the remainder of the army. When the movement began the 
26th was to the left of the 51st, but soon it was found that the 
winding of the river, which here sweeps inward toward the 
east, left too narrow a space for both commands to proceed 
abreast. Accordingly Edgar's men dropped to the rear.^^ 
For some distance the line of march was through a wood which 
obscured and protected the men, but when open ground was 
reached the 51st Regiment received a most galling fire from 

25 See above, p. 28. 

2« C. W. Humphreys, "Battle of New Market," in (Richmond) Times- 
Dispatch, October 8, 1905. Dr. Humphreys took part in the movement 
which he describes. His statements are approved by his commander, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar. 

27 "As my battalion advanced, the front became too narrow because 
of the winding of the river, and I found it necessary to order one com- 
pany after another to drop to the rear of the regiment on my right, until 
my entire battalion was in its rear." Letter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar 
to Henry A. Wise, February 18, 1896. 



48 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

the sharp-shooters on the river-bluff, from the artillery in 
front, and from the 34th Massachusetts Regiment supporting 
it. So terrible was the fire that some of the men halted, 
wavered, fell into confusion, and began to rush back toward 
the rear."* Thus almost at the beginning of the movement the 
Confederates were threatened with defeat, since there seemed 
imminent danger of a rout. As will be shown, the Confed- 
erate line farther to the east, the 62d Virginia and the com- 
mands adjoining, had been brought to a halt by the terrific 
fire from the Federal position. At this time the Federal com- 
manders believed that victory Avould be with them.^^ 

28 "There were four companies of our regiment on our right. My 
company was A, and belonged at the head of the regiment ; but when on 
the march we walked so fast that the command could not keep up, and 
General Wharton put us back in the right center. Those companies on 
our right gave way one at a time, slowly falling back; they dropped down 
to try to stay under the shot and shell from the enemy that seemed to 
keep the air blue. I called to the company next to mine to stand firm, as 
I was not going to run. My men always told me they never would run 
until I did, and I believed them. The officer tried to hold his company, 
but could not. I saw something had to be done, and saw no officer of 
higher rank than myself. The time had come for no foolishness; at least 
half our command was giving way." D. H. Bruce (51st Regiment). 
"Battle of New Market, Va.," Confederate Veteran, XV, 554. Hum- 
phreys says that the men of the 51st very properly lay down to avoid the 
first volley, and that their mistake was in not rising for the charge im- 
mediately after the Federal marksmen had fired. "Battle of New Mar- 
ket," (Richmond) Tunes-Dispatch, Oct. 15. 1905. Edgar, however, ex- 
presses himself more strongly. "It wasn't long until the regiment gave 
way, the men breaking through my line in several places. Seeing the 
danger of a stampede of the left wing, I ordered my officers to fall to 
the rear a few paces and draw their pistols and use them, if necessary, 
to stop the fugitives". . . . Letter of Edgar to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 
18, 1896. 

29 Cf. the report of Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVH, 
part I, 84. 



THE BATTLE 



49 



So much controversy has arisen that one can hardly be 
certain about all that transpired, but it seems probable that the 
day was saved for the Confederates on their left by the splen- 
did conduct of the 26th Battalion under Colonel Edgar. Since 
the 51st had so far borne the brunt of the battle in this part 
of the field, the men of the 26th had suffered little harm. In 
spite of the fact that their ranks were somewhat broken by 
the fugitives streaming to the rear, they held their ground 
steadily. Then Colonel Edgar springing to the front, shouted 
the charge. ^° His men responded gallantly, and a determined 
forward movement was begun along the slope of the hill near 
the river. To some of those who were present this advance 
seemed to occupy but a brief space of time,^^ but in reality 
there was a great deal of hard fighting.^' Gradually the Fed- 
eral sharp-shooters were dislodged, and the artillery deprived 
of its support. Finally a last rush was made under circum- 
stances which seemed picturesque to those who afterwards re- 
membered them. The weather was heavy, and the rain had 
continued falling, sometimes in heavy showers, so that now 

30 "Colonel Edgar, in front, faced his men, waving his sword over his 
head, and cried. 'Forward ! men, forward !' At the same instant General 
Breckinridge dashed along our line in the rear, shouting : 'Charge ! 
charge ! charge !' " Humphreys, Times-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 1905. "I . . . 
especially urged my men to move forward to meet the enemy. My efforts 
were successful." Letter of Edgar to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896. 

21 Humphreys, Times-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 1905. 

32 "This was not the work of a few minutes, as might be hastily in- 
ferred from the brief statements of some of the officers who participated 
in the two charges made, but covered a period of two or more hours of 
persistent fighting through rain and mud" . . . Edgar, Critical Notes 
upon the Battle of New Market. Colonel Smith, of the 62d Virginia, is 
of the opinion that the actual fighting in the second part of the battle 
occupied a very short time. 



50 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



the smoke from the cannon lay low along the ground and cut 
off the view ahead. ^^ Through this smoke the men of the 26th 
plunged, and at last the enemy gave way. For some time now 
the Federal army had been pressed all along its center and 
right. Along most of the line it had made good the defense, 
as will be seen. The 626. Virginia had been repulsed, and the 
51st thrown into confusion.^* But now its extreme right was 
being broken. For a brief space the detached company of the 
34th Massachusetts maintained a running fight back along the 
river-bluff, but it suffered severely and was finally disposed 
of."" Meanwhile the artillery, deprived of its supports and 
threatened by the renewed advance of the 51st Virginia Regi- 
ment in front, was limbered up and moved off hastily to the 
rear;^® not quickly enough, however, to prevent the capture 
by the 26th Battalion of two pieces, while a third was after- 
wards found by the victors abandoned in a pond.^" There 
was a brief conflict with a handful of Federal soldiers who 
attempted to fall upon Edgar's rear from the left, but they 
were soon put to flight,^^ after which this part of the field 
remained in the possession of the Confederate troops. 

33 "Just as we began the assault a May shower in big drops began 
to fall, causing the smoke of the enemy's guns to stand still in a long 
string with the lower edge about two feet above the ground. We saw 
the legs of the enemy by looking through under the smoke" . . . 
Humphreys, Times-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 1905. 

3* See above, p. 47, and below, p. 54. 

35 "Company C was sent off to skirmish on the right of the line, and 
lost half its numbers prisoners, together with its two officers." Report of 
Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 85. 

36/&tU, 84. 

^"^ Edgar, Report ; Humphreys, Times-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 1905. 

38 Humphreys, ibid. 






THE BATTLE 5 1 

In thus standing firm when a rout seemed possible, in ad- 
vancing steadily upon the enemy and gradually forcing him 
back, and in doing so much to compel him to withdraw two 
of his batteries, the 26th Virginia Battalion rendered a most 
important service. On the Confederate right the 23d and 
the 22d were with difficulty holding their own, in the center 
the 62d, the Cadets, and the 30th were at a standstill, on the 
left the 51st was in confusion. This was the moment when 
Edgar began to lead his men forward. The result of his 
movement was to break the Federal line and turn their flank. 
Meanwhile the other Confederate commands had continued 
their advance, and it was the successful contest which they 
were now everywhere waging which made it possible for the 
26th to do what it did. Nevertheless this must not detract 
from their service which, if not necessarily the decisive factor, 
had much to do with deciding the issue of the day. 

It is the irony of fate that for a long time these men were 
denied all honor. Because at first the 26th had been posted in 
the rear, it was said in after days that throughout the battle it 
had acted as a reserve.^** It is accordingly the more necessary 
to emphasize the part which they played, a part substantiated 
by the official report of Colonel Edgar and by the affidavits of 
his officers.*" 

As to the guns near the river there has been much contro- 
versy. Edgar and the men of the 26th have declared vehe- 
mently that they captured them. Edgar asserted it in his re- 

39 Humphreys wrote his articles in the Richmond Times-Dispatch 
partly for the purpose of disproving this. 
**> See below, pp. 134-141. 



22 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

port rendered shortly after the battle. Unfortunately there is 
no independent evidence to corroborate this, and the men of 
the 51st have put forward claims for themselves." There is 
no question of good faith or conviction. Both commands v^^ere 
nearby w^hen the cannon were abandoned and as will be shown 
there were reasons why each might think that it had caused 
the retreat of the enemy. Nevertheless the evidence presented 
by the 26th Battalion is considerably better than that pre- 
sented by the 51st Battalion, and in this volume it has been 
accepted. 

Considering this part of the battle in its entirety, it may 
be said that the withdrawal of the batteries and the retreat 
of the Federal troops from Bushong's Hill were the result 
of the nearly simultaneous advance of the Confederate 
army all along the line, and that on the left the 26th, 
the 51st, and the Cadets moved forward nearly together from 
different places. While Edgar was routing the detached com- 
pany of the 34th Massachusetts, the 51st and the Cadets were 
driving off the remainder of the Regiment, at the same time 
that the 62d and 22d were putting to flight the ist West Vir- 
ginia and the 54th Pennsylvania. It was because of all this 
that Carlin and Snow had to withdraw such guns as they 
could take off the field. Since, however, it is proper to award 
honor particularly to the command nearest and most directly 
responsible, that honor should go to Edgar and the men of 
the 26th Battalion. 

While the 26th Virginia Battalion and part of the 51st 
Virginia Regiment were advancing out of the sight of their 
comrades, behind the ridge near the river, they were taking 
part in a general forward movement of the Confederate army. 

*i See below, pp. 142-145. 



THE BATTLE 53 

To the east of the ridge was part of the 51st. On its right 
was the 30th BattaHon, beyond which was the 62d Virginia 
Regiment. To the right of the 62d, but somewhat behind and 
making part of the second echelon, was the 22(1 Virginia Regi- 
ment, while some distance behind the 62d was the Corps of 
Cadets posted in the rear as a reserve. Some time before two 
o'clock this part of the army also began its attack upon Sigel's 
second position. In general it may be said that the brunt of 
tiie fighting was borne by the 62d, and in a lesser degree, be- 
cause of the fewness of their numbers, by the Cadets ; and that 
these commands later supported by the 51st, which had recov- 
ered from its confusion, and by the 22d, which brought assist- 
ance, drove the Federal forces from their lines. In many re- 
spects the leading part was taken by the 62(1, by the movements 
of which were largely determined the movements of the other 
commands.*^ 

In their forward movement the men of the 62d suffered no 
check until they had passed over the larger part of the spage 
which separated the two armies, and had arrived at the north- 
ern fence of the yard of the Bushong House,*^^ the principal 
landmark upon the slope of the hill up which they were making 
their charge. They came to this point just at the time when 
that part of the 51st Regiment which was beyond the ridge 
had halted in confusion. The line of march lay toward the 
1st West Virginia Regiment, strongly posted, supported by 
the 34th Massachusetts on its right and the 54th Pennsylvania 
on its left, and flanked by artillery to the right." Thus the 
62d came directly under the concentrated fire of those forces 

*2 MS. letter of Colonel Smith to Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar, March 
16, 1906. 

*2aKey, 18. 

*3 Key, 23, 22, 21. 



54 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

which had apparently completed the discomfiture of the 51st. 
The effect was terrible. In a few moments Smith lost nearly 
half of his command.** He led his men on a little farther, but 
the 51st had halted to return the enemy's fire, and the 22d 
had not yet come up to his support on the right, so that he 
found himself alone and in danger of annihilation under the 
Federal guns. Accordingly he was compelled to order his 
shattered regiment to fall back and reform behind a low hill.*" 
This part of the battle was made memorable by a splen- 
did act of heroism. Immediately upon the retreat of the 62d 
Regiment, Sigel pushed out to an advanced position Von 
Kleiser's Battery, which had apparently been withdrawn from 

^ ^* 243 officers and men out of about 500. These numbers include the 
appaling losses of Captain Woodson's Missouri company. See above, p. 
27, note 24. The loss suffered by Smith's men was much the heaviest loss 
sustained by any command in the Confederate armJ^ MS. letter of Col- 
onel Smith to Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar, March 16, 1906. See also his 
account in the Confederate Veteran, XVI, 570. 

*^ "I, therefore, seeing that the regiment would be annihilated by a 
few minutes continuance of the fire to which it was exposed, drew it back 
under cover of the hill south of us ;" . . . Letter of Colonel Smith to 
Edgar, March 16, 1906. Ke)% 18. 'At this point Wharton's Brigade was, 
say, two or three hundred yards in advance of any of the other troops ; 
but owing to our moving too much to the left, the left part of the Brigade 
was — as I understood — thrown out of line by the bluff, and the center 
stopped at the further fence of Bushong's yard, leaving the 62d Regiment 
alone to advance. This resulted in the concentration of the enemies' 
fire on that regiment ; and seeing the men rapidly melting away . . . 
I brought them back a short distance to a hollow place to reform them 
and to wait for the other troops" . . . MS. letter of Colonel Smith 
to Henry A. Wise, March 7, 1896. Cf. Confederate Veteran, XVI, 570. 
"I do not disparage these center boys, for I was there. But they were in 
front before the line became one general line. They had had all the in- 
fantry fire, all the artillery fire . . . they were cut up . . . they 
had done their part." MS. letter of Major Peter J. Otey to Lieut. -Col. 
Scott Shipp, April 14, 1873. It is probable that this has particular refer- 
ence to the 51st Regiment and the 30th Battalion. 



0>*OU:-;':;. ■: KT 



TA G\'!j. ,:;o;iA 



ROCKY SLOPE TO THE EAST OF THE BUSHONG 
HOUSE. UP THIS SLOPE THE 62D VIRGINIA REGI- 
MENT ADVANCED IN ITS FIRST CHARGE, AND AT 
THE BASE, IN THE FOREGROUND, IT RALLIED 
AFTER ITS REPULSE. 



THE BATTLE 55 

the turnpike when the Federal rout occurred there, and was 
now brought directly to the front of the 62d and the Cadets, 
who had just arrived on their left. From its advanced posi- 
tion Von Kleiser's Battery poured in a terrible fire of canister, 
which wrought havoc in both commands. Then Captain 
Woodson's Company of Missourians detached itself from the 
left of the 62d and moved forward to within easy range, di- 
rectly under the cannon fire. Every member of this Western 
company was an expert marksman, and so they began shoot- 
ing down the Federal gunners. In a few moments the work 
was done, and the battery was temporarily silenced; but in 
those few moments the company had disappeared. Out of 
a total of seventy, six were killed and fifty-four wounded. 
More than any other men in the battle of New Market these 
soldiers from the West sacrificed themselves for their cause. 
On the spot where they fell there is now a granite marker 
bearing a brief and simple inscription, as it fitting.*^* 

To the Federal commanders on Bushong's Hill it seemed 
that the day was won. Their troops had been subjected to a 
heavy artillery fire, their skirmishers had been driven in,*® and 

^•"•a MS. letter of James H. Dwyer (Sergeant of Woodson's company) 
to P. D. Stephenson, May 15. 1909 (this letter is accompanied by affidavits) ; 
MS. letter of James H. Dwyer to the author, March 11, 1912; Rockingham 
Register, May 20, 1864. According to Dwyer the command contained only 
sixty-five men. 

**■' "The rebels advanced in three lines of battle, each, I think, as heavy 
as ours, with masses on the right and left. The ground was perfectly 
open, not a tree or shrub to obstruct the view. Nothing could be finer 
than their advance. Their yelling grew steadily nearer ; our skirmishers 
and infantry in front came back on the double-quick, some of them run- 
ning through and over my lines." Report of Colonel Wells, 34th Massa- 
chusetts Regiment. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 83. "As 
soon as we arrived on that ridge we began to fire. ... I was kept 
busy pulling our men back out of the line as they were killed and wounded 
. . . the smoke was so thick I could see nothing in front." MS. letter 



^5 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

their advanced line put to rout,*' but the principal Hne of bat- 
tie had remained unshaken, and the enemy had been sent reel- 
ing back.** This was the moment for a vigorous counter- 
attack,** Had it been possible now to hurl a strong force of 
cavalry upon the shaken Confederates their line might have 
been irretrievably broken.^'^ This was impossible since Sigel 
had massed his cavalry under Stahel on the Federal left;^^ but 
preparations were made to send forward the infantry. 

As a matter of fact, however, the Federal success was only 
temporary. The Confederates were not demoralized. Except 
for the heavy artillery fire from both sides there was for a 
short time a lull in the battle in this part of the field. The 
Confederate line was being strengthened and rectified once 
more. 

of David R. Bryan (54th Pennsylvania Regiment, Company A) to B. A. 
Colonna, March 8, 191 1. 

^'' See above, p. 44. 

*8 "Our front fire was heavy, and the artillery had an enfilading fire, 
under which their first line went down. They staggered, went back, and 
their whole advance halted. Their fire ceased to be effective. A cheer ran 
along our line, and the first success was ours. I gave the order to 'cease 
firing.' " Report of Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, 
part I, 84. "There was an interruption of a few minutes, "when the 
enemy's lines recoiled, and our men cheered" . . . Sigel, "Sigel in 
the Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. 

*9 "When his" (Breckinridge's) "line had reached within two hun- 
dred yards of that of the enemy, the position was very critical, and for a 
time it seemed doubtful as to which would be the first to give way." J. 
S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 10. 

^<> "Just here a cavalry charge would have won the day for the Yan- 
kees, and it was suggested by a Prussian officer whose name I forget but 
whom my battalion captured, and General Sigel would not allow it, but 
ordered it elsewhere as we will see" . . . Letter of Major Peter J. 
Otey to Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, April 14, 1873. 

^"^ Key, 25. 



THE BATTLE 



57 



The men of the 62d were undaunted by the disaster which 
had just occurred. Indeed they had retired partly for the pur- 
pose of waiting until the other commands should come up 
with them.^" The gap between the 62d and the 51st was being 
filled by the Cadets in the course of a brilliant movement to 
be described hereafter. To the left the 51st had recovered its 
order and was ready to go forward again. To the right of 
the 62d the 22d Regiment under Colonel Patton was hasten- 
ing up to complete the line. 

This was the time chosen by Sigel for the Federal counter- 
charge.^^ Perhaps it had no chance to succeed, although the 
result might have been different had this charge been made 
immediately after the repulse of the Confederates, and had the 
Federal left been holding its own. Now there was little hope. 
As the Federal soldiers moved down the slope they were met 
by a terrible fire.^* Curiously enough what had happened to 
the Confederates a little before now befell their opponents. 
The 54th Pennsylvania and probably the ist West Virginia" 

^2 Letter of Colonel Smith to Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar, March 16. 
1906. "It was common talk just after the battle that he" (Colonel Smith) 
"halted his regiment and aligned them under a heavy fire and then moved 
forward in perfect order" . . . MS. letter of Charles A. Holt to Cap- 
tain T. C. Morton, Feb. 10, 1896. 

53 "Just then Colonel Thoburn, brigade commander, rode along the 
lines telling the men to 'prepare to charge.' He rode by me shouting 
some order I could not catch, and went to the regiment on my left, which 
immediately charged. I supposed this to be his order to me, and I com- 
manded to fix bayonets and charge. Then men fairly sprang forward." 
Report of Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 84. 

5* "As we neared the crest of the hill we met the entire rebel force 
advancing and firing." Report of Colonel Wells, ibid. 

55 "Observing the regiment on my right making a charge in the 
absence of orders, presuming it proper to imitate their example, I ordered 
the Fifty-fourth also to charge, which was done with alacrity and spirit. 



58 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

halted in confusion and turned back leaving the 34th Massa- 
chusetts to advance alone. ^° The men of this command charged 
gallantly toward the fence of Bushong's yard, but were re- 
pulsed in disorder, partly because of the splendid fighting of 
the Cadets. ^^ Accordingly they retreated with heavy loss.^' 
In some respects the repulse of Sigel's countercharge was the 

Advancing beyond the crest of the hill, a rapid, vigorous, and, as I be- 
lieve, effective fi^c was for some time kept up on the enemy, and every 
effort made by them to advance on the front occupied by my regiment 
was firmly and resolutely resisted, and proved abortive, although we sus- 
tained a galling and destructive fire, in which many of my men were 
killed and wounded." Report of Colonel Jacob M. Campbell, 54th Penn- 
sylvania Regiment, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 86. 

56 Ibid. 

^"^ "But here the Cadets step in their way and utterly rout them — I 
speak by the card and have no hesitancy in saying that this saved the 
battle (for I was lying" nearby "shot, and was directly between these 
charging Yanks and your boys). Had the Cadets given away at this point 
it is very clear that the Yankees would have driven a wedge as it were 
into our attacking column, and would have cut it in two." Letter of 
Major Otey to Lieut.-Col. Shipp, April 14, 1873. Since the ist West Vir- 
ginia was easily driven back, and since Edgar was now turning the Fed- 
eral flank, the writer exaggerates the importance of the repulse of the 
34th Massachusetts. 

^^ "The regiment on my left, which first met the fire, turned and 
went back, leaving the Thirty-fourth rushing alone into the enemy's line. 
I shouted to them to halt but could not make a single man hear or heed 
me, and it was not until they had climbed an intervening fence, and were 
rushing ahead on the other side, that I was able to run along the lines, 
and, seizing the color bearer by the shoulder, hold him fast as the only 
way of stopping the regiment. The wings surged ahead, but, losing sight 
of the colors, halted. The alignment rectified, we faced about and marched 
back to our position in common time. I could hear the officers saying to 
the men, and the men to each other, 'Don't run!' — 'Keep your line!' — 
'Common time !' &c. On reaching our position the regiment was halted, 
faced about, and resumed its fire. The path of the regiment between our 
line and the fence was sadly strewn with our fallen." Report of Colonel 
Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 84. 



THE BATTLE 59 

critical point in this part of the engagement, for the tide of 
battle now turned. The 22d Virginia Regiment, which formed 
the left of the hinder echelon, had now come up upon the 
right of the 62d Virginia. Together they formed a solid line 
of eight hundred veteran troops. ^^ A forward movement was 
begun immediately, leaving the shaken Federal troops no time 
to recover. The Cadets also under Captain Henry A. Wise 
and the other Professor Captains, Colonel Shipp, the com- 
mander, having been disabled, sprang forward with heroic 
enthusiasm, their boyish cheers arousing the veterans on both 
sides of them.*'" The 51st Virginia to the left of the Cadets 
had recovered from its earlier confusion and had been fight- 
ing vigorously." It also took part in the general forward 
movement, so that substantially the entire Confederate army 
swept up toward the Federal position. By this time Edgar 
had completed his work of turning the Federal right; the 
troops posted along the river had been driven back, and the 
artillery was hastening to move off. Over on the left the Fed- 
eral attack had been repulsed, and there the Confederate right 
was driving the enemy back. In fact the Federal line was 
breaking up now, and Breckinridge encountered no serious 

59 MS. letter of Colonel George H. Smith to Henry A. Wise, April 
I, 1911. 

^^ "Our esprit de corps made us vie with the magnificent veterans to 
our right and left. They yelled, we yelled with them. The onrush was 
irresistible." MS. letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 
IS, 1909. 

^1 Captain D. H. Bruce, Company A of the 51st Virginia Regiment, 
who contends that his company did not fall into confusion and that it 
took a leading part in defeating Sigel's army, says : "We stayed in that 
position and fired as fast as we could load for one hour and fifteen 
minutes, according to a man who was not in the battle and noted the 
time." "Battle of New Market, Va.," Confederate Veteran, XV, 553. 



6o THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

resistance. The 54th Pennsylvania and the ist West Virginia, 
hotly pressed and in danger of being flanked, gave way.*'^ The 
34th Massachusetts was thus left in a perilous position. The 
62d and the 226. were driving away its supports on the left; 
the 26th, the 51st, and the Cadets were driving off the artil- 
lery on its right ; while it was being assailed in front by part 
of the Cadet Battalion, the 30th Virginia, and part of the 62d. 
It fought stubbornly and well, and sustained heavy losses, but 
could not retrieve the day.*'^ As it was it lacked little of being 
cut off.®* Thus both the right and the center of the Federal 
army were broken. 

*^ See below, p. 92. 

®2 "Just as we halted Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln fell. The loss of 
his invaluable services, and the impossibility of making my voice heard 
in the din, rendered it necessary for me to go along the whole line 
to make the men understand what was wanted. The alignment per- 
fected and the men well at work, I was able to look about the field, 
and saw, to my surprise, that the artillery had limbered up and was 
moving off the field, and that the infantry had gone, save one regi- 
ment, which was gallantly holding its ground far to the left. The 
rebel line advanced until I could see, above the smoke, two battle-flags on 
the hill in front of the position where the artillery had been posted. I 
ordered a retreat, but they either could not hear or would not heed the 
order. I was finally obliged to take hold of the color bearer, face him 
about, and tell him to follow me, in order to get the regiment off the 
field. They fell back slowly, firing in retreat, and encouraging each other 
not to run. But the rebels were coming on at the double-quick and con- 
centrating their whole fire upon us. I told the men to run and get out 
of the fire as quickly as possible, and rally behind the first cavalry line 
found to the rear." Report of Colonel Wells, 34th Massachusetts, War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 84. 

** This would probably have been the case had Edgar advanced still 
farther and got in its rear. Cf. Humphreys, in (Richmond) Times-Dis- 
patch, Oct. 15, 1905, who imputes the failure to do this to the fact that 
Edgar was waiting for orders from his superior. Humphreys even be- 
lieves that an aggressive movement at this time would have spared the 
other Confederate commands much hard fighting. 



THE BATTLE 6 1 

Meanwhile on the other side of the field, over by the turn- 
pike and down to Smith's Creek, the Confederate line had held 
its own against superior numbers, and turned apparent defeat 
into victory. Here was posted on the Federal side such parts 
of the i8th Connecticut and 123d Ohio as had not left the 
field, and all of Sigel's available cavalry, commanded by Major- 
General Stahel. On the Confederate side was the 23d Vir- 
ginia Battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Derrick/^ assisted on 
its left by the 22d Virginia Regiment under Colonel Patton/*^ 
though the 22d was mostly occupied along with the 62d to its 
left in confronting the Federal regiments to the west of the 
Valley turnpike. As a matter of fact, wdiile Sigel on his left 
w^as still strong, Breckinridge on his right was weak. The 
defense of this part of the Confederate line lay with Derrick 
dnd the Confederate artillery. 

It is probable that Sigel had as good a chance to break the 
Confederate right as Breckinridge had to break the right of 
the Federals. This Stahel's cavalry did attempt to do. Had 
they succeeded, they might have effectually counterbalanced 
the good fortune of the Confederates at the other end of the 
field, and the entire Federal center might have been Enabled to 
continue its resistance. As has been shown, however, the 
Confederate left broke the Federal right. On the other hand 
the Federal left failed to shake the Confederate right. Roughly 
this is the explanation of Sigel's defeat. 

The position of Derrick might well have seemed perilous. 
He had to confront a force greatly superior to his own, and in 
order to prevent his opponents getting around his flank, he 
had to cover a long stretch of ground. With the force at his 

«5 Key, 14 b. 
66 Key, 14 a. 



52 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

disposal it was necessary for him to guard the Hue for nearly 
half a mile, from where Patton's right ended all the way to 
Smith's Creek. It was possible to do this only by extending 
two companies of his command as skirmishers. So he con- 
fronted the masses of the enemy's cavalry.*'' In this perilous 
situation, however, he was supported by the larger part of the 
Confederate artillery under McLaughlin, Without this assist- 
ance it would seem that he must have been swept aside.^^ 

The Federal cavalry seems to have been driven back some- 
what away from Smith's Creek after the Confederate guns 
under Imboden had begun firing upon them from across the 
stream.*"' Accordingly Derrick and the 22d were not closely 
engaged until some time after the Confederate left and center 
were struggling with their opponents. As Derrick moved for- 
ward, however, he was soon face to face with the remnants of 
the 123d Ohio and the supporting cavalry, and became in- 
volved in a furious contest, in which his men managed to hold 
their own, fighting with stubborn courage.^" 

Somewhat behind the Confederate right was the greater 
part of Breckinridge's artillery under Captain Chapman, Cap- 

^'' "When I saw part of the men on my left front dashing back through 
my fire, and saw no reserve in my rear, with two of my largest and best 
companies extended as skirmishers nearly half a mile to my right, you 
may know what I ^prehended, and how all my attention was concen- 
trated at home, holding my men solid." MS. letter of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Derrick to Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar. 

6* MS. letter of Adjutant Noyes Rand (22d Virginia Regiment) to 
Edgar; MS. letter of Captain C. H. Minge (C) to Edgar. 

'^^ See above, p. 41. 

''^ "The left was in contact and in action with the enemy before the 
right, where I was ; and when we, a little later, came to the crest of the 
hill in plain sight of at least two lines of the enemy, we got such a hot 
reception that my men knelt down and held their position." MS. letter 
of Derrick to Edgar. 



LANDS NEAR SMITH'S CREEK, 
W 1U(. U ib ,M.\iavKO BY THE LINE OF TREES. BE- 
YOND THE CREEK, IN THE BACKGROUND, DER- 
RICK'S SKIRMISHERS HELD THE CONFEDERATE 
right/- ' Tl*/ THE FOREGROUND IMBODEN MOVED 
IN ATTEMPTING TO TURN THE.FEDERAL LEFT. 



THE BATTLE 63 

tain Jackson,''^'' Lieutenant Berkeley, and Cadet Captain Minge, 
all of whom were under the command of Major McLaughlin 
and to some extent under the personal direction of Breckin- 
ridge himself. Altogether there were fourteen guns, the en- 
tire available artillery force of the Confederate army except 
for the four cannon which had gone across Smith's Creek 
with Imboden. 

The Confederate artillery had been engaged during the en- 
tire battle, moving forward from one position to another as 
the Federal army drew back. It had done particularly good 
service in driving Sigel's men from their first position before 
and in New Market, but its decisive part was to be played now. 

Sigel while holding his right and center on the defensive 
undertook an aggressive movement on his left. The Federal 
cavalry under Stahel were massed for a charge down the pike 
to sweep away their opponents and turn the Confederate flank. 
As they came csi with a mighty rush Derrick's skirmishers ran 
together in little groups among the trees and sought shelter 
wherever they could. '^^ Derrick ordered his men to hold their 
ground and fire low. In a moment, he says, the whole field 
was covered with smoke.^- Meanwhile McLaughlin's guns 
were made ready for the charging horsemen, and as they came 

TOaXhere is some doubt about Jackson's guns having taken part in 
this fighting. 

''1 "I saw for the first time in battle our skirmishers run together 
and form themselves in fours, placing backs together" . . . MS. letter 
of Sergeant J. G. Stevens (Chapman's Battery) to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Edgar. Also MS. letter of Captain J. K. Thompson (22d Regiment) to 
Edgar. 

''- "Tlie cavalry, and, I think, the infantry started to charge us on 
the right, and I ordered my men to fire low, and waited for them to de- 
bouch out of the heavy smoke" . . . MS. letter of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Derrick to Edgar. 



64 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

nearer opened lire with deadly effect, dropping shells in their 
very midst.'^ At the same moment to the left of the turnpike 
part of the 22d Regiment swung round till it w^as facing the 
road, and began shooting down the horses. On the other side 
Derrick's men did the same.^* Thus met in the front with a 
withering fire, and exposed on both flanks, the charge ended 
in utter disaster : only three Federal horsemen reached the Con- 
federate lines." So ended in entire failure Sigel's most impor- 
tant aggressive movement in the second period of the battle."® 
It is difiicult to praise too highly the conduct of the Con- 
federates in this section of the battle-field. To a certain extent 
their part was to have been a passive one. While the soldiers 
on the Confederate left were dealing a deadly thrust at their 
antagonists, and the men in the center w^ere locked in des- 
perate struggle, the few remaining on the right were to act 
on the defensive. They were to hold their ground while the'- 
comrades won the day. This they did in magnificent fashion. 
The artillery maintained a duel with the batteries of Ewing 
and Von Kleiser, probably disabling one of the guns, and help- 
ing to repulse Stahel's charge. Derrick's men greatly out- 
numbered, maintained a prolonged conflict until their com- 
rades had triumphed farther down the line. Had they faltered 
or given way the result might have been different. Now as 

^3 MS. letter of Captain J. K. Thompson to Edgar. 

-'* Ibid. 

^s "Only three of the cavalry got through, two of whom, when they 
saw their predicament, dismounted and lay down, the third man, Captain 
John J. Carter, rode back through our line and escaped down the pike." 
Ibid. 

7^ MS. letter of Major William C. McLaughlin to Henry A. Wise, 
Jan. 27, 1897; Breckinridge, Report; J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New 
Market. 10; Imboden. "The Battle of New Market," Battles and Leaders 
of the Civil War, IV, 484. 



THE BATTLE 65 

the horsemen streamed back along the pike, the 22d advanced 
moving to the left and front with the 62d. Together with the 
Cadets and the 51st these regiments began their last charge, 
which drove Sigel out of his lines. The Federal army now 
moved back toward the river-crossing, and the decisive part of 
the battle was over/^ 

^'^ As to all this part of the battle the report of General Breckinridge 
is absolutely meager. "My troops advanced with great steadiness in the 
face of a most galling fire. This steadiness together with the well directed 
fire of the artillery soon showed its effect upon the enemy. His right less 
favored by natural advantages than his left was first thrown into con- 
fusion . . . my troops charged with a defiant shout and the enemy 
fled precipitately leaving his dead and wounded upon the field" . . . 
Breckinridge, Report. 



CHAPTER V. 
The Part of the Cadets. 

THE most difficult task in writing a history of the battle 
of New Market is to give an account of the part taken 
by the Cadets. What they did was so brilliant, so unusual, 
and so unexpected, that after a while their exploits came to be 
shrouded in a mist of tradition and romance very difficult for 
the historian to penetrate. In after days enthusiastic advo- 
cates and friends made exaggerated and contradictory asser- 
tions about their deeds on the fifteenth of May. It was said 
that they had made the only Confederate charge of the battle ; 
that they had stormed a battery firing grape and shrapnel into 
them and supported by masses of infantry; that they had 
rallied the veterans faltering around them, and won the bat- 
tle of New Market when all hope seemed lost. Some said they 
broke the Federal line near the Shenandoah, some where the 
center regiments were posted, some over by the turnpike. It 
did not matter that many of these assertions were absurd, and 
many of the things asserted impossible. The statements were 
taken up and repeated enthusiastically by newspaper writers 
and old soldiers. Gradually as time went on, there being a lack 
of maps, plans of position, and circumstantial statement, the 
whole subject of the battle became loose, hazy, and indistinct. 
It now became possible to fit into an account of it incidents of 
any kind without apparent violation of the truth. All the 
while the part of the Cadets grew in magnitude and impor- 
tance. It made little difference that soldiers from the other 
commands at New Market protested indignantly and wrote 
careful accounts in disproof. It mattered not that many of 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 67 

the assertions for the Cadets were made long after the war, 
or by writers who had seen nothing of what they described. 
Emphatic repetition and wide pubHcity have often served to 
make historv. It is thus that myths originate. 

In the process of time, however, some circumstantial narra- 
tives were prepared and published.^ To a greater or less extent 
they were based upon a study of the topography of the battle- 
field, the exact positions of the forces engaged, and such offi- 
cial reports as had been made immediately after the battle. 
It was then seen that many of the assertions about the Cadets 
were so foolish and contradictory as to carry no weight v^^hat- 
ever with the competent critic. The result of this was that in 
the end those who knew anything about the battle of New 
Market were divided into three classes : those who believed 
that the Cadets had won the day; those who believed that the 
Cadets had done some uncertain thing which had been greatly 
exaggerated; and those who believed that their part had been 
wholly without importance. 

It is the purpose of this chapter to ascertain the truth so 
far as the truth may now be discovered. An effort will be 
made to do justice to the veteran commands who have suf- 
fered from the unfortunate statements made in behalf of their 
younger comrades, and at the same time to give historical 
credibility to the undoubted and brilliant services of the Cadets, 
so that in the future no injustice may be done to them. It will 
be best to begin by sweeping away some of the most obvious 
fictions. 

^ Especially C. W. Humphreys, "Battle of New Market," (Richmond) 
Times-Dispatch, Oct. 8, 15, 1905 ; Colonel George H. Smith, "More of 
the Battle of New Market," Confederate Veteran, XVI, 569-572; the MS. 
critical notes of Colonel Smith and of Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar ; and 
the topographical researches of Benjamin A. Colonna (C). 



68 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

The most famous of all these stories is that about the cap- 
ture of a Federal battery by the Cadets. If some of the ac- 
counts could be credited, one of the batteries on Bushong's 
Hill was doing deadly execution upon the Confederate army. 
All attempts to take it failed until at last the boy soldiers of 
the Virginia Military Institute dashed across the slope against 
it. The battery hidden in smoke poured grape and canister 
into them as they struggled along through the mud. On both 
sides of the battery the riflemen were shooting fast and furi- 
ously. The hill shook under the roar of the guns. Yet they 
charged on until they reached the cannon, some of which were 
even then fired for the last time, and routing the gunners took 
possession of the battery. 

A multitude of writers have borne witness to most of the 
details here given. Perhaps no account is apparently more 
worthy of credence than that given by Captain Franklin E. 
Town, Chief Signal Officer of Sigel's army. Thirty-four 
years after the battle he wrote the following account: 
){ "Standing on the crest of this slope after a short time, I 

observed a line forming in the ravine at the foot of the hill, 
which seemed about like a regiment in extent, but so 'smart' 
and 'natty' in appearance as instantly to suggest our own pet 
'Seventh Regiment' of New York City. They appeared more 
like militia on parade than troops in campaign. We were soon 
able to identify the command as the Battalion of the Virginia 
Military Institute, and certainly a more soldierly appearing 
corps never faced an enemy. 

"After perfecting their alignment this young regiment ad- 
vanced toward our battery. It approached only a short dis- 
tance when it halted and turned back, toward the ravine. There 
was no apparent disorder, nor did it seem that they were fall- 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 69 

ing back in panic, but rather as if by some change of plan and 
in pursuance of orders. 

"The BattaHon remained but a short time in the ravine, and 
again advanced. They came on steadily up the slope, swept 
as it was by the fire of these guns. Their line was as perfectly 
preserved as if on dress parade or in the evolutions of a re- 
view. As they advanced, our guns played with utmost vigor 
upon their line; at first with shrapnel, then, as they came 
nearer, with canister, and, finally, with double loads of can- 
ister. As the Battalion continued to advance, our gunners 
loaded at the last, without stopping to sponge, and I think it 
would have been impossible to eject from six guns more mis- 
siles than these boys faced in their wild charge up that hill. 
But still they advanced steadily, without any sign of faltering. 
I saw, here and there, a soldier drop from their line and lie 
where he fell, as his comrades closed up the gaps and passed 
on. Their pace was increased from a quick-step to a double 
time, and at last to the charge, as through the fire they came 
on, and up to the guns, which they surrounded and captured; 
our artillerymen giving way when the bayonets, having passed 
the guns, were at their breasts."^ ; 

This story would seem at first sight to be worthy of entire 
credence. Captain Town declares that he was very close to 

- "An Eye Witness from the Othei- Side," Neiv Market Day, 82, 83. 
This account was printed also in the (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, April 
24, 1898. Cf. the account given by Major Theodore F. Lang, a member 
of Sigel's Staff: "I must say that I never witnessed a more gallant advance 
and final charge than was given by those brave boys on that field. They 
fought like veterans, nor did the dropping of their comrades by the ruth- 
less bullets deter them from their mission, but on they came, ravines or 
fence, or shot or shell was all the same to those brave boys, who faltered 
not until they waved their battle-flag over the captured battery of Captain 
Von Kleiser." MS. Personal Recollections of the Battle of New Market, 
(no date). 



70 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



what he saw.^ Apparently he is relating only what he actually 
did see. There are some unfortunate difficulties, however. 

In the first place it has been remarked that the capture of 
a battery in the manner described would have been a most won- 
derful achievement. It is asserted that the Cadets charged 
upon a powerful battery, superbly served up to the last moment 
of its capture, and that they did this, moreover, after crossing 
a field, which as we know from other sources, was ankle-deep in 
mud. At Agincourt a slough of mud through which the French 
soldiers charged proved their absolute undoing, even though 
in numbers they were overwhelmingly superior to the enemy. 
The mere exertion was such as to make them unfit to cope with 
their opponents. It might be supposed that similarly the 
Cadets, boys as they were, would have been no match for full- 
grown men after dragging themselves through the mud and 
sprouting grain of Bushong's field. Moreover during this pro- 
gress, necessarily slow, they must have afforded an excellent 
target for the six guns said to have been before them. It has 
been well said that one volley of grape from such a battery 
ought to have caused as many casualties as they suffered dur- 
ing the entire battle. 

In the second place while the accounts of the part of the 
Cadets are usually based upon such sources as those just 
quoted,* it seems to be forgotten that these accounts were writ- 
ten a generation after the events happened, when memories 
were fading, and when tradition was taking the place of truth. 
The contemporary narratives cannot be used for a very evident 
reason. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, who commanded the 

3 "I watched this action from my position, but a few yards from the 
left of the battery" . . . New Market Day, 83. 

* Cf. for example Dr. John N. Upshur, "Address," New Market Day, 
19, 20. 




>IOITAUTiIITV:c 
TtiaWHTHOH SHT 

AS aHT : 

-o'?m:tt a-/iuo^ eg; 
Villi i a. .aan ja- 
(-1VI0D32 e'jaoia . 



EXTREME SOUTHERN CONTINUATION OF 
BUSHONG's hill, slightly to the NORTHWEST 
OF the town of new MARKET. AT THE BASE OF 
THIS HILL — IN THE LEFT OF THE PICTURE — SOME 
OF THE CONFEDERATE COMMANDS FOUND TEMPO- 
RARY SHELTER FROM THE FEDERAL FIRE, AS THEY 
WERE MARCHING TO ATTACK SIGEl's SECOND 
POSITION. 



THE PART OF THE CADETS yi 

Cadets, made an official report on July 4, 1864, while Captain 
Frank Preston of Company B wrote an account four days after 
the battle.^ Neither of them says anything about the Cadets 
capturing a battery by assault, or capturing any battery at all. 
It has usually been asserted that the Cadets took Von Klei- 
ser's Battery, but they could scarcely have done this, since 
Von Kleiser's Battery was not captured. No Federal battery 
was captured at New Market. Sigel lost five or six cannon. 
Two of these were captured by the Confederates from the bat- 
teries near the river, while another they found afterwards aban- 
doned in a pond.® Von Kleiser lost two guns/ one of which, 
there is no doubt, was taken by the Cadets when the Federal 
line gave way,® and they may have captured the other. But 
they did not capture a battery. 

^ Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 89-91 ; "Letter Written by Captain Frank Preston, Com- 
pany B, V. M. I. Corps, from New Market, May 19, 1864, to a Member 
of His Family in Lexington, Va.," Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

8 See above, p. 50. 

^ "Two pieces of Von Kleiser's battery fell into the enemy's hands" 
. . . Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of 
the Civil War, IV, 489. 

s There is no doubt that they captured a gun, and persistent tradition 
has asserted that it was from Von Kleiser's Battery. The capture was 
made during the confusion and melee when the Federal army was break- 
ing up. This gun could not have been taken over by the turnpike, where 
Von Kleiser's Battery was stationed in the first line. The Cadets were 
not in that part of the field. See below, p. 129. There is no record that 
Von Kleiser's Battery was moved from the Federal left to the center 
and to the north of Bushong's house, but Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln of 
the 34th Massachusetts Regiment asserts that it was there. Life with the 
Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, 281, and it is certain that it did 
not remain in its first position after the rout of the i8th Connecticut and 
the 123d Ohio. At the end of the day one cannon was abandoned by the 
retreating Federals near Rude's Hill. M^S. letter of H. A. Du Pont to 
Edgar, October i, 1908. 



-2 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Not less exaggerated have been the assertions about the 
results of the action of the Cadets, There has been a ten- 
dency to maintain that they saved the day and won the battle,® 
and that General Breckinridge acknowledged that they had 
done so.^^ As a matter of fact there is no ground for such an 
assertion, and it is grossly unjust to the veteran soldiers who 
bore the brunt of the fighting. The Cadets made up about 
one-sixteenth of the Confederate army, so that it would have 
been physically impossible for them to have turned the tide of 
battle. They did bear themselves gloriously, and they per- 
formed all that was expected of them and much more, but the 
battle of New Market was won by the stubborn resistance of 
Derrick and the wondrous handling of the artillery on the 
right, by the steady advance and desperate rushes of the Con- 
federate center, and by Edgar's movement on the extreme left. 

Not the least unfortunate result of this careless writing is 
the confusion attaching to the movements of the Cadets. They 
have been described as fighting in so many different parts of 
the field at the same time that some of the most careful writers 
have come to exactly opposite conclusions as to where they 
were, while some have abandoned as impossible the task of 
finding their position. They are said to have been on the right 
with Derrick, on the left with Edgar, next to Patton, on the 
right of Smith, on the left of Smith, next to the 51st. It is 
very probable that before they made their charge they occu- 
pied this last position. ^^ The confusion has arisen partly from 

^ "Not the devoted few who stood in the pass at Thermopylae, the 
noble six hundred that charged at Balaklava, nor Pickett's men, who 
stormed the blazing crest at Gettysburg, deserve more praise than that 
Cadet Battalion which, amid a storm of shot and shell, won that glorious 
day at New Market." Upshur, "Address," Nezv Market Day, 20, 21. 

10 See below, p. 88, note, 57. 

^^ See below, pp. 126-130. 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 73 

the fact that the Cadets actually did occupy different positions 
at different times, and partly because careless writers have 
striven to give the proper setting for the statements which 
they were trying to prove. 

The result of all this has been much popular exaggeration 
of the exploits of the Cadet soldiers, and some critical dispar- 
agement of what they really did perform. None have lamented 
this more than the Cadets themselves. It is not they for the 
most part who have written the misleading accounts. On the 
contrary members of the Corps have made some of the most 
careful investigations that have been undertaken.^' It has 
been their desire, so far as possible, to clear away the fictions 
and discover the truth. 

At the beginning of the forward movement of the Confed- 
erate army the Cadets had been stationed in the rear line as a 
reserve. As the advance continued they were subjected to a 
heavy fire from the Federal batteries, which got their range 
exactly. Shells began to burst among them, causing several 
casualties, but they kept their ranks and maintained discipline 
with such admirable coolness as to augur well for their con- 
duct in the struggle before them." Under this, the first fire to 

12 Especially Captain Henry A. Wise, Mr. Benjamin A. Colonna, and 
Mr. Preston Cocke. 

13 "As Wharton's line ascended a knoll it came in full view of the 
enemy's batteries, which opened a heavy fire, but not having gotten the 
range, did but little damage. By the time the second line reached the same 
ground the Yankee gunners had gotten the exact range, and their fire 
began to tell on our line with fearful accuracy. It was here that Captain 
Hill and others fell. Great gaps were made through the ranks, but the 
cadet, true to his discipline, would close in to the center to fill the in- 
terval and push steadily forward. The alignment of the battalion under 
this terrible fire, which strewed the ground with killed and wounded for 
more than a mile on open ground, would have been creditable even on a 
field day." Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp, War Records, ser. i, 
vol. XXXVH, part I, 90. 



74 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

which they had been subjected, they continued their march for 
more than half a mile, all the while preserving their order in 
magnificent fashion.^* After some time they reached the shel- 
ter of a hill, and there they halted/^ 

Meanwhile the changes in the position of the Confederate 
commands had taken place/'' Edgar had been moved away 
from his place in the reserve next to the Cadets, over to the 
extreme left of the Confederate line. It is probable that shortly 
afterw^ard Shipp also marched his battalion obliquely forward, 
though of such a movement there is almost no record/®* It is 

1* "In the center just on the left of the Valley turnpike through my 
strong field-glasses I beheld an unfamiliar sight for the battle-field, a body 
of several hundred with bright uniforms, shining swords, . . . pol- 
ished buttons, and handsome flags as if just come from the manufacturer, 
kept the aligament perfect ... on came the line, and on came the 
bright uniforms" . . . Major T. F. Lang, Personal Recollections of 
the Battle of New Market. Also D. G. Mohler (C). MS. Recollections 
of the Battle of New Market; MS. letter of Preston Cocke (C) to Henry 
A. Wise, July 25, 1895. 

15 Captain Frank Preston, Company B, thus describes the march : 
"Marching down the first hill we were exposed to the enemy's batteries, 
but were too far to reply with small arms. In this advance one man was 
killed in the first line, and several wounded in our Battalion. . . . 
After getting to the bottom of the hill we were entirely covered, and here 
we waited half an hour, while some change was made in the lines. A half 
hour of intense suspense — the artillery on either side firing — the shot and 
shell flying and bursting high over our heads — knowing that in a short 
time we must charge the infantry, whose dark lines we saw drawn up in 
the woods. . . . After some time the first line began to move forward 
up the hill. . . . Then the second line began to move, and our nerves 
were strung and our lips firmly closed, our breath coming short and quick, 
waiting for the crash of musketry which we expected would receive the 
first line" . . . Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

16 See above, p. 28. 

1®^ "Having begun a flank movement to the left, about two miles 
south of New Market, the nature of the ground was such as to render 
it impossible that the artillery should continue with the infantry column. 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 75 

certain, however, that this' line of march brought the Cadets 
to the immediate south of the Bushong House/^ By this time 
the Confederate center and left were engaged in a fierce strug- 
gle with Sigel's army, and were indeed in a critical position. 
This was the moment when the 51st had halted in confusion, 
with some of the men breaking ranks, while the 62d was un- 
able to make headway. It appeared as though Breckinridge 
had been overbold and had run upon disaster. The enemy was 
unshaken ; there was a break in the Confederate line ; and some 
of the men were beginning to rush away to the rear." It was 
at this critical juncture that the Cadets, who had been ap- 
pointed to act as a reserve, moved forward into the forefront 
of the contest and filled up the gap. They took position be- 
tween the 51st Virginia Regiment and part of the 30th Bat- 
talion which was fighting along with the 62d Virginia.^^ They 
had now become part of the first line of battle.^" 

The movements of the Cadets at this time are known some- 
what in detail. They had preserved their order splendidly 
during the heavy cannon fire, and had pressed forward in such 
beautiful alignment as to excite the admiration of all who saw 

I ordered Lieutenant Minge to join the general artillery column in the 
main road and to report to Major McLaughlin. After that I did not see 
the section of artillery until near the close of the engagement." Report 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 
90. 

1" See below, p. 129. 

1^ "The troops in the first line . . . gave way; they began by ones 
and twos, and finally broke through our ranks in a wild rush that for a 
time threw us into some confusion." Letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, May 6, 1909. "Some of our troops — Major Otey tells 
me it was the left of his Battalion, the 30th, and the right of the 51st, 
gave ground a little." MS. letter of Lieut. -Col. Shipp to A. P. Young, 
April 28, 1873. 

^® Key. 18, 19. See below, p. 130. 

20 D. G. Mohler (C), Recollections of the Battle of New Market. 



70 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



them. It was remarked by a Southern officer who was watch- 
ing them from a point of vantage that they kept their course 
as if marching on dress parade.-^ After ascending the hill at 
the base of which they had halted, they came to an open iield 
muddy from the rains and exceedingly difficult to cross.^^ A 
slight confusion was caused by the ends of the Battalion ad- 
vancing faster than the center and so beyond it, thus causing 
the line hitherto straight to become curved; but here was dis- 
played admirable coolness and discipline, for in the midst of a 
terrible artillery fire"^ the line was soon rectified, after which 
they proceeded in as perfect order as before."* 

21 Letter of Major P. J. Otey to Lieut. -Col. Shipp, April 14, 1873. 

22 "The mud, which in many places was over the ankles, made it im- 
possible to advance faster than at a walk, and the enemy's artillery had 
fair range all the while." Captain Frank Preston, Lexington Gazette, 
May 25, 1864. "We had to cross a ploughed field where the mud was up 
to our ankles. Here I remember that one of my shoes pulled ofif in the 
mud, and I went through the rest of the 'row' with nothing on one foot 
but a sock, and I'm prepared to 'Make affidavit' that there wasn't much 
of that." Letter of W. Kemp (C) to General Goggin, March 25, 1888. 

23 "In the advance on this third position, we were subjected to a ter- 
rible fire of artillery. When within four hundred yards of their line three 
of our boys fell dead from the explosion of one shell — Cabell, Jones, and 
Crockett, and fifty yards further on McDowell, from my company, fell 
pierced through the heart with a bullet." Captain Frank Preston, Lex- 
ington Gazette, May 25, 1864. "The bursting of shells about us was in- 
cessant, one of these passing directly through our colors. . . . About 
this time we passed a group of wounded soldiers who cheered us, but a 
shell, intended for us, burst in their midst, and they were silent." "Sud- 
denly there was a crash in our front — a great gap appeared in our ranks, 
and 1st Sergeant W. H. Cabell, privates Wheelwright, Crockett, and 
Jones, fell dead, and others were wounded. The opening was immediately 
closed, and the line went forward in the best of order. Nothing could 
have been finer done." MS. letter of Gideon Davenport (C) to Preston 
Cocke, January 28, 1895. 

2* "I remember here a circumstance that we, the Cadets, thought 




«msiii 



THE BUSHONG HOUSE, AROUND THE iJIDES OF 
WHICH THE CADETS PASSED IN TAKING THEIR 
PLACE IN THE CONFEDERATE LINE OF BATTLE. 






THE PART OF THE CADETS yy 

At the edge of the field was a frame house with other 
buildings, known by the name of the owner, Bushong." Be- 
yond was an orchard, and then a plateau, which formed the 
top of the hill, and which was also an open field.'® When the 
house was reached the Cadets divided, Companies A and B 
passing to the right, Companies C and D to the left."^ After 
the line was reformed on the other side, they found the grim- 
mest part of their task before them, and it was here that their 
most terrible losses occurred.^^ From the Federal position 

nothing of, believing it usual under like conditions, but which some of the 
old soldiers, who saw it, afterwards applauded. In advancing under heavy 
fire of shells and shot over the uneven and muddy ground, the wings of 
our battalion pushed forward, making our line crescent-shaped. In order 
to correct this our commandant gave the order he was used to give us 
on the parade-ground at drill, that is to 'mark time;' and this we did 
under fire, until the command 'forward' was given." Letter of W. Kemp 
(C) to General Goggin, March 25, 1888. General Shipp denies that such 
an incident took place at this time. MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 
3- 1910. 

25 See map, p. 132. 

26 "The top of the second ridge was a broad table land" . . . MS. 
letter of W. M. Patton (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 10, 1895. Upshur, 
"Address," New Market Day, 15, 16. 

2^ "On the northern border of this field and to our front, stood 
Bushong's house, beyond which was an apple orchard. The enemy had 
slowly fallen back and taken up a third position several hundred yards 
beyond this house. On reaching the house, the ranks divided, A and B 
Companies passing to the right of the house, and C and D Companies to 
the left; A and B marking time until the other half came up and the line 
was reformed." Upshur (C), New Market Day, 15, 16. "In passing over 
the ground occupied by the farm-house . . . and its outhouses and 
orchard, we were thrown into disorder, especially in getting over a picket 
fence." MS. letter of W. O. Harris (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 19, 
1909. Also MS. letter of F. L. Smith (C) to same, March 27, 1909. 

28 "In this fatal orchard Stanard, from my company fell mortally 
wounded, Jefferson was shot through the stomach, and in fact almost 



78 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

beyond, the artillery had perfect range, and poured in a fire of 
canister and shrapnel incessant and terrific.^^ Moreover the 
distance was now short, and masses of Federal infantry played 
upon them with incessant volleys.^" Accordingly for a time 
the advance was halted. 

The position of Sigel's army was so well chosen and so 
well defended that for a while it seemed impossible to force it. 
During some time the Confederate advance was checked, and 
certain regiments were rolled back and thrown into confu- 
sion.^^ The front lines melted away under the terrific iire.^^ 
Echols' men were still occupied on the right; some of Whar- 
ton's commands fell into disorder. From the Federal lines the 
tide of battle seemed to be running strongly against the Con- 
federates.^^ Sigel afterward described this part of the action 

all our loss was here." Captain Frank Preston, Lexington Gazette, May 
25, 1864. "At the time we passed the house the Federals were directing 
their fire upon us, and the house was made a sounding-board by the strik- 
ing of the missies upon its sides." MS. letter of R. H. Cousins (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, May 12, 1909. "We then went past the house and got 
into the orchard, where canister and other missiles were raining like hail. 
It seemed impossible for men to pass through such a storm." MS. letter 
of G. T. Lee (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 15, 1909. 

29 "Carlin's Battery . . . was just above us on a knoll and was 
sending shells over our heads with terrible efifect into the ranks of these 
boys." MS. letter of J. N. Waddell (12th West Virginia Regiment) to 
B. A. Colonna, Nov. 28, 1910. 

30 Upshur, "Address," Neiv Market Day, 16. 

31 See above, pp. 47, 48, 53, 54. 

32 "The batteries of our first and second lines poured grape and can- 
ifter into their infantry" . . . Report of Major Henry Peale, War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVH, part I, 82. 

33 "We poured a rapid and well directed fire into the enemy; which, 
aided by the heavy enfilading fire from our artillery, checked his advance. 
For a moment he staggered, appeared to give way, and the day seemed 



THE PART OF TtfE CADETS 79 

as a very sharp conflict in which the enemy charged repeatedly 
and with determination, but were as often repulsed by the 
bravery and coolness of his infantry on the right.^* It is the 
opinion of an officer who watched the struggle that had Sigel 
hurled his cavalry into the opening in the advancing lines, that 
is, between the 51st and 62d Regiments, at this critical 
moment, the Confederates would have been put to total rout.^^ 
It is known now that the Southern soldiers stood their ground 
sturdily. Where the wavering was at its worst, most of them 
seem to have held their own under the cannonade ; ^^ and from 
what has come down concerning this stage of the battle the 
conduct of the several divisions seems to have been replete 
with heroic incidents'." Nevertheless here was the moment of 
greatest danger. 

When the Cadets reformed their line on the north side of 
Bushong's house, they filled in the gap between the 51st Vir- 
ginia Regiment on their left and the 62d Virginia Regiment 

ours." Lincoln, Life with the Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, 
282. Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," place cited, IV, 489. Re- 
port of Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 84. 
3* Sigel, place cited, IV, 489. 

35 MS. letter of Major P. J. Otey to Lieut.-Col. Scott Shipp, April 14, 
1873. 

36 Colonel Smith, speaking of the march of the 62A, says : "From the 
first advance of Wharton's Brigade to the close of the fight, the only pause 
was on the occasion above described, where the 62d Regiment waited for 
the coming of Echols' Brigade, then commanded by Patton." Letter to 
Henry A. Wise, March 7, 1896. 

^"^ It is said that when the men of the sist were in confusion, and 
had fallen back a hundred yards, the color-bearer, Frank Lindamood, 
walked back slowly, and standing in full sight of the enemy, shook his 
banner aloft until his comrades raflied about him again. MS. letter of 
J. W, McGavock (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 20, 1909. 



So THE NEIV MARKET CAMPAIGN 

with the attached companies of the 30th Virginia Battalion 
on their right. They were in the van of the battle, and at 
one time seem to have been in advance of the other com- 
mands.^* To each side their comrades were suffering heavily, 
especially the 626. Virginia to the right. While the veterans 
around them were wavering,^' they also suffered fearfully 
from the combined artillery and musketry fire.*** The young 
soldiers were falling right and left, and for a while it seemed 
that they could go no farther. 

This was one of the most critical moments in the battle of 
New Market. Breckinridge was in danger of defeat. He 
had boldly taken the aggressive, and so far success had attended 
his efforts, for he had pushed a portion of the Federal army 
out of New Market, and his right wing had driven back the 
Federal left, while Imboden had gained a position on the Fed- 
eral flank. But Imboden's men were practically useless where 
they were, and the town was untenable so long as the Federal 
forces remained on the heights beyond. To drive them out 
Breckinridge had launched all his remaining strength in a 
frontal attack, and this attack seemed to be meeting with fail- 
vire. On the right Echols' commands had made little prog- 
ress; on the left Wharton's men had advanced farther to 

»* "When we got to the 'Peach Orchard' we were from 150 to 200 
yards in front of the front line." MS. letter of H. C. Bowen (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, May 5, 1909. Also MS. letter of N. B. Noland (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, May 24, 1909; letter of R. B. Tunstall (C), Dec. 27, 1894. 

39 "We encountered men of our army who were leaving the line of 
battle, some of them passed around the flanks of the Battalion, and some 
lay down for us to pass over." MS. letter of F. L. Smith (C) to Henry 
A. Wise, March 27, 1909. Also MS. letter of Preston Cocke (C) to same, 
July 25, 1895; letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to same, April 14, 1909. 

*" See below, Appendix F, p. 148, for the account of Cadet N. B. 
Noland. 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 8l 

within striking distance of the enemy, but with the exception 
of the 26th Battahon, had suffered so heavily as to be com- 
pelled to fall back. 

It was at this deadly moment that the Cadets of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute pushed out into the orchard beyond 
Bushong's house. Close to them now was Sigel's army shoot- 
ing from the fences and cedar groves, while nearer still were 
the Federal batteries which had already wrought such havoc 
in the advancing lines. The Cadets seemed to have rushed 
into certain destruction. The artillery concentrated upon them 
its fire continuous and terrific, hurling shells into the orchard 
and tearing the trees to pieces. Their commandant, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Shipp, was wounded by a piece of a shell,*^ where- 
upon there began a wavering and confusion among them. 
Some one gave the order to lie down. They obeyed, and be- 
gan firing from the ground, crouching behind a worm fence 
along the edge of the orchard.*^ But the firing of the cannon 

*i "The advance was thus continued until having passed Bushong's 
house, a mile or more beyond New Market, and still to the left of the 
main road, the enemy's batteries, at 250 or 300 yards, opened upon us 
with canister and case-shot, and their long lines of infantry were put into 
action at the same time. The fire was withering. It seemed impossible 
that any living creature could escape; and here we sustained our heaviest 
loss, a great many being wounded and numbers knocked down, stunned, 
and temporarily disabled. I was here disabled for a time, and the com- 
mand devolved upon Captain H. A. Wise, Company A. He gallantly 
pressed onward. We had before this gotten into the front Hne." Report 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 
90, 91. 

*^ "At a given order they fell flat on the ground, and we could see 
nothing but a gray streak across that meadow. Directly they arose on 
their knees, and immediately a streak of fire and smoke flashed across 
that field, and the bullets flew thick and fast through our ranks." MS. 
letter of J. N. Waddell (12th West Virginia) to B. A. Colonna, Nov. 
28, 1910. "About the middle of the orchard, Colonel Shipp was knocked 



g2 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

in front of them continued with fearful ejffect,*^ until at last 
the cry arose that they should fall back and rally on the vete- 
rans to the rear.** Fortunately this was not done, but the 
Cadets continued to fire from their exposed position,*^ though 
all the while they were being riddled. 

At this opportune moment, when victory seemed within his 
reach, Sigel launched the counter-attack upon the enemy be- 
fore him. The 34th Massachusetts with the adjoining regi- 
ments sprang forward at the 51st, the Cadets, and the 62d. 

down, and, we thought, mortally wounded. Here for the first and only 
time our line was broken. Even then these brave boys did not retreat, but 
ran forward thirty yards where in confusion, yet still together, we lay 
down behind a fence, and began for the first time to fire upon the enemy." 
Captain Frank Preston, Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. "I remember 
distinctly the fact of our lying down in this position, because I was imme- 
diately next to Captain Preston, who, having lost one of his arms at the 
first battle of Manassas, protected the other as well as he could by keep- 
ing it under his body." Letter of F. L. Smith (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
March 27, 1909. It may be remarked that by this time many of the old 
fashioned Belgian rifles with which the Cadets were armed had become 
useless, owing to the fact that the wet weather had caused the clasps 
about the ramrods to swell, making it impossible to draw them out. 
During the battle they supplied themselves with the rifles of fallen sol- 
diers whenever possible. Letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
April 14, 1909. 

■*3 "We were exposed to such a fire . . . that, if we had long re- 
mained in this position, we would have been almost exterminated." MS. 
letter of J. B. Baylor (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 6, 1909. 

^* "Some one shouted out that the whole line was giving way, and 
for a moment I thought that all was lost." Captain Frank Preston, Lex- 
ington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

*s "We came into line again at the edge of the orchard and opened 
on the enemy with our muskets ... we were ordered to lie down, 
the fire from the enemy being quite severe ... I myself and our 
whole command fired on them . . . lying down." MS. letter of F. 
W. James (C) to Henry A. Wise, March 29, 1909. 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 83 

Had the charge been well directed and firmly pressed, it might 
have decided the day. The 54th Pennsylvania fought well, 
but was forced to retreat; while the ist West Virginia suf- 
fered heavily and halted almost at once. The 34th Massachu- 
setts, however, charged down nearly to the fence behind which 
the Cadets had their position. Could they have done this 
somewhat earlier, they would have found the place unoccu- 
pied, and it may be would have broken the Confederate line.*' 
This was where the Cadets did their best service. With the 
men to the right and left of them they held the place with 
stubborn resolution, and after a sharp struggle the 34th was 
driven back to the position which it had left just before.*' 

We know now that this was indeed the turning-point of 
the engagement. On the right Stahel's cavalry was being re- 
pulsed, and the Confederate artillery was shaking the Federal 
line. In the center Colonel Smith had led back his regiment 
to await the arrival of Echols' force; the 22d Regiment had 
now come up; and there was a long line of men ready to go 
forward. On the left the 51st had recovered; Edgar had won 
his way along the river-bluff; and the Federal batteries were 
preparing to move off. At the moment, however, all of these 
things were known to no one commander. The Federal posi- 
tion still seemed far stronger than it really was. 

After the fall of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp the command 
of the Cadets had devolved upon Professor Captain Henry A. 
Wise. He says that he believed that the longer the Cadets lay 
inactive behind their scanty shelter under the enemy's fire the 
less would be their courage, and the more impossible would it 
be for them to do anything. At the moment it seemed to 

*® See above, p. 58. note 57. 

*7 Letter of Major Otey to Lieut.-Col. Shipp, April 14, 1873; report of 
Colonel Wells, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII. part I, 84. 



§4 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

him that there were two possible courses: either to fall back, 
as had been suggested, or to rise and continue the advance. 
He felt instinctively that this was the decisive moment of the 
battle; and that if the Cadets fell back and opened a gap in 
the center of the line it might mean the loss of the day. More- 
over he thought that to fall back under an artillery fire like 
that to which they had been subjected would entail nearly as 
much hazard as a charge right at the enemy's guns.*^ The 
chance was a terrible one, but he made his decision instantly. 
His comrades still recall how he sprang to his feet and shouted 
the charge.*' At once the magnificent training of the Cadets 
asserted itself : they rose as a man, got over the fence, and 
moved forward across the field straight for the enemy's guns.^" 
There is no doubt that at this moment the 626. and the 22d 
had begun their charge, but the influence of the Cadets stirred 

■** Statement of Captain Wise to the author. 

*^ "It seems to me that I can see you now, tall, handsome, and sol- 
dierly-looking, as you ran down the Cadet line with sword drawn, until 
you reached our center, very near where the colors were carried by Evans, 
when you said: 'Get up from here and give the Yankees Hell.'" MS. 
letter of R. E. Waller (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 26, 1909. Captain 
Frank Preston of Company B says that he gave a like command at the 
same moment. Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. According to P. B. 
Hiden (C), some years later Captain Robinson, Company D, asserted 
that he gave the order, and that he did so at the solicitation of the Cadets. 
MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, May 6, 1909. According to Captain Rob- 
inson, "Colonna, my First Lieutenant, came up and said (I can repeat his 
words), 'Captain, Shipp is out and Wise is out, you are in command. My 
God, we can't stand this, order a charge.' " "I stepped to the rear and 
gave the order 'Charge.' The order was like applying a spark to powder. 
With deafening rebel yells the battery was taken in less time than it takes 
to tell it." "Those NolDle Cadets," in Virginia Citizen, Dec. 7, 1894. 

BO "The Federal battery . . . was not immediately in front, but 
to the left oblique" . . . D. G. Mohler (C), Recollections of the Bat- 
tle of New Market. 



THE SLOPE OF BUSHONG S HILL NEAR THE 
BUSHONG HOUSE, ORCHARD, AND BUILDINGS. 






*M: 



TBE PART OF TffE CADETS g. 

to enthusiasm the adjacent commands, and the whole Con- 
federate line rushed forward." The Federal troops from their 
position saw the movement, and prepared to hold their ground. 
Unfortunately it is not possible for the historian to feel 
that he can narrate exactly the details of what followed, such 
vivid, contradictory, and exaggerted accounts have been given. 
It is probable that some shells were bursting over the field as 
the Corps advanced, but they kept their ranks and pressed for- 
ward. The incessant rains of the morning and the day pre- 
ceding had drenched the whole country. The ground over 
nhich they were toiling was a wheat-field not long since 
ploughed, now sodden and ankle-deep in mud. At times the 
Cadets found it an heroic task even to drag their feet out of 
the slough into which they had sunk,^=^ and in many cases shoes 
and even socks were pulled off as they struggled along. Fur- 
tliermore the rain, which had ceased, had ceased only for a 
while. A black thunder-cloud which had gathered hung low 
and now when the charge began, burst over the field in tor- 
rents.^^ The air was dim with the driving rain and the dark- 
ness, and murky with the volumes of smoke which drifted 

=1 "As we began to clear the veterans on our flanks they inspired us 
by calhng out, 'Look at the Seed Corn Battalion, look! look!' And they 
in turn were inspired and sprang to the front . . . they yelled we 
yelled with them, the onrush was irresistible. The Federal line wavered 
fell slowly back to the battery, and broke into full retreat." Letter of b' 
A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 14, 1909. 

"Letter of G. T. Lee (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 15, 1909. 

S3 "There was just then a heavy rain storm, and it was very dark 
yet I could see the blaze of fire from the guns ten feet beyond the men' 
1 he picture is vivid in my mind to this day." Captain J. W. Parsons 
(i8th Virginia Cavalry), who saw the charge from a distance, in Con- 
le^erate Veteran, XVH, 119 (March, 1909). "The rain was falling in 
torrents and the smoke obscured our view-the noise was deafening" 
Letter of G. A. Davenport (C) to Preston Cocke, Jan. 28, 1895 



86 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

along the ground/* so that it was difficult to see twenty paces 
ahead save for the lightning-flashes and the fire where the 
riflemen were shooting.^^ The elements themselves seemed at 
war. 

But there was no faltering. The distance to be traversed 
grew less, and soon the audacity of their courage told. The 
Federal soldiers were too much shaken and too hard pressed 
to make a stout resistance. There was some attempt, but on 
the Cadets came, and then at last in the midst of a wavering 
in the enemy's ranks, they dashed up to the Federal lines, wild 
with enthusiasm, and shot down the horses of one of the guns. 
There was a brief hand to hand struggle, but the Federal army 
was already giving way. The Cadets ran here and there cap- 
turing prisoners. The color-bearer sprang upon the gun-car- 
riage and waved his flag. The position had been stormed.^" 

'^* Sigel Himself says, "The smoke from the infantry fire on the left 
and the batteries on the right became so dense that I could not distin- 
guish friend from foe." "Sigel' in the Shenandoah Valley," place cited, 
IV, 489. 

^s "Tlie smoke became so dense that I could only see the flash of 
their guns" . . . MS. letter of S. H. Letcher (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
May 2, 1909. 

•>' A Federal ofificer, who witnessed the advance of the Cadets, wrote 
as follows : "I well recollect even now our own position, the field of bat- 
tle, and the appearance of each army. We were upon the right of the 
infantry line ; to our right, upon ground slightly elevated, a six-gun bat- 
tery. The Sixty-second Virginia, which formed the extreme left of the 
attacking force, advanced directly against us. To the right of the Sixty- 
second were the cadets. The line of advance was a little diagonal to that 
of our formation, and as It was continued the Sixty-second passed beyond 
and the cadets came directly to our front. Our fire, both that of artillery 
and infantry, was rapid and continuous, and, when the battery opened 
with canister, was destructive. As the advance was continued, it was 
apparent that the cadets were in advance of the general line of the attack- 
ing force. Here their forward movement ceased, and for a moment it 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 87 

This charge of the Cadets upon the Federal position at 
New Market is one of the most remarkable episodes of the 
Civil War, or, indeed, of any war.^"^ That a body of youths, 
ranging in age from fourteen to twenty should conduct them- 
selves well in battle would in itself have been sufficiently cred- 
itable. But that in the first battle in which they had ever 
served they should do what they did is almost beyond belief. 
That called from the quiet seclusion of a military school they 
should have endured long, fatiguing marches for three days 
over muddy roads and miry fields; that wearied with their 
journey and yet roused from their sleep on the night before 
the battle and sent onward they should have chafed at being 
held in sheltered position, and insisted on pressing forward 
into the front and central part of the battle; that they should 
have borne their part steadily; that they should have stood 

seemed as if their advance was checked. But what seemed a check was 
in reality a halt, during which 'those boys' marked time, dressed their 
ranks, and when again aligned on the left, came forward in most admir- 
able form. The whole thing was done with as much precision and steadi- 
ness as if on parade, and this while all the time subjected to a destructive 
fire. No one who saw it will ever forget it. No command but one most 
admirably drilled and disciplined could have done it. And if any other 
troops on that field could, it is safe to say no other body did do that 
thing. In after time around our camp-fire, the gallant conduct of those 
little fellows (for such they seemed to be), was spoken of among our- 
selves, and always in terms of the highest commendation. With no desire 
to disparage the conduct of other organizations in that army, I should 
be doing injustice to myself, the brave men of my own command, and 
the young men who composed that gallant battalion, if I failed to render 
to them unqualified praise" . . . "Letter of Gen. Lincoln to Rev. 
James H. Smith, March 10, 1888," in (Richmond) State. April 4, 1888. 
Among the popular descriptions of the charge of the Cadets cf. William 
A. Thom, Jr., in Norfolk Virginian, Sept. 9. 1894; Ex-Governor William 
E. Cameron, in (Baltimore) Herald, Oct. 28, 1894. 
*8 ^ See below, Appendix G, p. 150. 



gg THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

their ground under a withering fire when veteran regiments 
were hard pressed; and that finally in the crisis of the strug- 
gle they should have met the shock of the enemy unmoved; 
all of these facts are as astounding as they are true. The bat- 
tle of New Market was a small battle, and relatively speaking 
the Cadet Battalion was a mere handful ; but what these boys 
did is comparable with what older troops have done in some 
of the most famous battles in the world. It may be that the 
words of incautious admirers have served to cast doubt upon 
their exploits. They did not rally the Confederate army, nor 
stem a rout, nor capture unaided a powerful battery under im- 
possible circumstances. But at a critical moment they did 
conduct themselves in a manner beyond all praise, and what 
they did had much to do with determining the issue of the 
battle." 

^^ Breckinridge always acknowledged this. "General John C. Breck- 
inridge, commanding, accompanied by several members of his staff, rode 
up. We presented arms. He raised his hat and said, 'Young gentlemen, 
I have to thank you for the result of to-day's operations.' He then rode 
away followed by our cheers, and taking our hearts along with him." 
MS. letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 14. 1909. 
"While we were in line at the foot of Rude's Hill, before we started for 
the town. General Breckinridge rode up and thanked us for w-hat we had 
done, saying that his line was broken when we made the charge, that we 
had saved the day when we took the battery" . . . MS. letter of W. 
M. Kirk (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 27, 1909. "After General Lee's 
surrender I was going south . . . and when I passed through Greens- 
borough, N. C., I . . . called on General Breckinridge to ask his 
advice . . . as to what I should do. When I told him that I was 
a Cadet and had been under his command at New Market, he was very 
kind and fatherly to me, and in parting with me said, 'Give my thanks 
to your fellow Cadets whenever you meet them, and tell them from me 
that they won the day for us at New Market.' " MS. letter of V. F. Gar- 
rett (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 26, 1909. George Ross, Assistant Sur- 
geon in charge of the Cadet Battalion, says that some years after the 
battle he met General Breckinridge who "expressed profound regret that 



THE PART OF THE CADETS 89 

conditions had arisen making it necessary to put those boys into the fight, 
and then commending their gallant action, said that their steadfastness 
and splendid courage had turned the tide of battle, and been the chief 
factor in bringing victory to the Confederate arms." MS. letter to Pres- 
ton Cocke (C), Dec. 28, 1894. These letters are quoted to substantiate 
the statement in the text, and are to be regarded as subject to the general 
criticisms premised at the beginning of this chapter. Speaking of the 
charge, Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar says : "I imagine that that advance and 
the advance of my battalion on the left, which I have described, were the 
turning points of the engagement. If either had not been promptly and 
eflfectively done, the day would have been lost." MS. letter to Henry A. 
Wise (C), February 18, 1896. 



CHAPTER VI. 
The Confederate Triumph. 

THE issue of the battle of New Market was decided when 
the Confederates drove the Federal troops out of their 
lines in the second position. The resistance of some of the 
Northern troops in the second line had been superb, and had 
Sigel been able to bring the remainder of his army into action, 
quite probably he would not have been driven to retreat. He 
had not succeeded in concentrating his army, however, and 
now in the supreme moment some of his regiments were found 
to be far in the rear.^ Hence though his army was actually 
larger than that of the Confederates his numerical superiority 
availed him nothing, and in face of the magnificent advance 
of the Southern troops his men were driven off the field. The 
contest was not yet finished, for there was still some fighting; 

1 "I was ordered to bring up the two other regiments of my brigade 
to the support of a battery on the left in the rear, forming a third line. 
After some inquiry where these regiments could be found, I learned that 
five companies of the Twenty-eighth and the One hundred and sixteenth 
Regiments Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Colonel 
Washburn, were in charge of the train, and did not leave Woodstock 
until 8 A. M. They had been halted at Mount Jackson, six miles in our 
rear. I sent my staff officers to order them up double-quick. They re- 
ported to me about 4 o'clock, Colonel Washburn stating that he had or- 
dered bayonets to be fixed to clear his way on the pike up to the battle- 
field through disgraceful fleeing masses of cavalry and straggling in- 
fantry." Report of Colonel Augustus Moor (28th Ohio Regiment), War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. Cf. Walker, History Eigh- 
teenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, 221 ; Rawling, History First 
Regiment Virginia Infantry, 167; Lincoln, Life with the Thirty-Fourth 
Massachusetts Infantry, 288, 289. 

90 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH 9 1 

but the advance now became general and successful all along 
the Confederate line, and the whole Federal army was pressed 
back. In a little while the remnant of Sigel's army found it- 
self attacked fiercely on all sides, and saved itself from being 
surrounded only by precipitate retreat.' On the far right of 
the Federal line Edgar had routed the detached company of 
the 34th Massachusetts and parts of 12th West Virginia, and 
had taken three Federal cannon. The advance of the 51st 
Virginia and the Cadets pursued the retreating artillery 
and flanked the 34th Massachusetts on its right. In its 
front the same regiment was pressed by the 62d Virginia, 
which along with the 22d Virginia had put to flight the ist 
West Virginia and was now closing in upon the 54th Penn- 
sylvania on the Federal left. The i8th Connecticut and the 
123d Ohio, which had been routed in the first line,^ gave no 
assistance here. On the extreme left of the Federal line the 
discomfiture of Stahel's cavalry had been completed by Patton, 
Derrick, and the Confederate artillery. 

In general the backward movement of Sigel's army was a 
retreat rather than a rout, though the different commands 
withdrew with varying degrees of steadiness.^ On the Fed- 
eral left the retreat once begun seems to have been most dis- 
orderly. Here the cavalry and the infantry went streaming 
down the pike in confused masses. In the center and on the 
right, where the defence had been so obstinate, the retreat was 

~ "Before we left we were receiving fire not only from our front but 
from our left, and almost from our rear. In fact we were nearly sur- 
rounded." MS. letter of General Lincoln to V. F. Garrett (C), by him 
quoted in MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, April 26, 1909. 

3 See above, pp. 44, 45. , 

* "There was some confusion and scattering of our retreating forces, 
but very soon order was restored." Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah 



gz THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

made sullenly and in good order. The 54th Pennsylvania held 
cut gallantly, but after a short time was compelled to give 
way."^ The sternest resistance, however, was made by the 
34th Massachusetts. After the disastrous charge upon the 
Confederates/ it fell back to its position and attempted to 
hold its ground. It continued a hand to hand struggle until 
it had been deserted by its supports on either side. Then it 
continued the contest, and did not fall back until it was in im- 
minent danger of being entirely surrounded. In spite of heavy 
losses it withdrew in good order.'^ In the pursuit some pris- 

Valley," place cited, IV, 490. Captain Frank Preston says : "Then every- 
thing was forgotten but the excitement of pursuit. We ran after them in 
not much better order, but in far better spirits, and firing as we ran. 
The Cadets captured from 60 to 100 prisoners. One of my company, 
Faulkner, took 23 to the rear. We pursued the enemy about half a mile 
. . . until we were halted by order of General Breckinridge." Lexing- 
ton Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

° "The enemy . . . pressed forward his right, which extended 
some distance beyond our left, and was rapidly flanking me in that direc- 
tion despite the most determined resistance, when my attention was called 
to the fact that the regiment on my right (owing to the overwhelming 
numbers brought against it) had given way, and the enemy was advanc- 
ing at almost right angle with my line and extending beyond the rear 
and right of my regiment. A few minutes only would be required to com- 
pletely surround my regiment, and in the absence of any appearance of 
advancing support I was reluctantly compelled to order my command to 
retire. This was done in as good order as the circumstances would allow, 
two stands being made by a portion of the command before passing be- 
yond musket-range, and the whole of it finally rallying and forming at a 
point indicated by the colonel commanding brigade." Report of Colonel 
Campbell (54th Pennsylvania Regiment), War Records, ser. I, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 86. 

* See above, p. 58. 

■^ "Tlie colors were halted several times by different officers in posi- 
tions where it was impossible to make a stand, and would only start again 
at my direct order. I felt much relieved on receiving an order from Gen- 
eral Sullivan, who was conspicuous on the field, that the line would be 



.Y^rrA/. 



ilT«UO'=[-YT«IHT 



COLONEL GEORGE D. WELLS, 
THIRTY-FOURTH MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY. 





^^ r- 



^ 




THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH 93 

oners were captured, but the Confederates were too exhausted 
to pursue very vigorously.® 

The pursuit which was retarded by the 34th Massachu- 
setts on the Federal right was checked on the left by the arrival 
of some companies of the belated 28th and ii6th Ohio Regi- 
ments, and also of Du Font's Battery.^ This battery did ex- 
cellent service, firing into the enemy and withdrawing slowly 
by platoon.^" 

Had the Confederates been fresh, or if they had been able 
to use reserves, they might well have turned the retreat into 

formed on the ridge and no stand made before it was reached. I 
directed the color bearer to march directly there without halting, and, 
after getting out of fire, rode to the rear and went round into the pike 
and toward the front looking for stragglers. I saw none, and, meeting 
the colors, found most of the regiment with them . . . the com- 
mand was gallantly withdrawn along the single road and across the nar- 
row bridge into Mount Jackson in the most admirable order" . . . 
Report of Colonel Wells (34th Massachusetts Regiment), War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 84, 85. 

8 "It had rained almost incessantly during the battle, and at its termi- 
nation the Cadets were well-nigh exhausted. Wet, hungry, and many of 
them shoeless — for they had lost their shoes and socks in the deep mud 
through which it was necessary to march — they bore their hardships with 
that uncomplaining resignation which characterizes the true soldier." 
Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, 
part I, 91. 

9 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. 

10 "A curtain of smoke very largely obscured the enemy's position, 
and the Union forces were falling back in the greatest disorder; every- 
thing was in the utmost confusion. I received any number of contradic- 
tory orders, given on their own initiative by various staflf officers — most 
of them young and inexperienced — and I took the responsibility of acting 
on my own judgment. Accordingly, I put one platoon (two guns) in posi- 
tion on the turnpike and opened fire immediately. I then designated two 
other positions along the turnpike to the rear and sent the other two 
platoons back to go in position, and as our troops fell back I retired my 
advanced platoon and opened fire with the others successively, sending 



g^ THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

a rout. As it was, however, they were themselves exhausted 
and disorganized. After a while the 26th Battalion and the 
62d Regiment found themselves far in advance of the rest of 
the army." Breckinridge, who had been the soul of valor 
throughout the day, and who was now with the foremost, real- 
ized that his troops must halt until order could be restored and 
ammunition replenished.^' 

During this time Breckinridge continued the tactics which 
had made his artillery so effective. His cannon fired from ad- 
vanced positions," while a section of McClanahan's Battery 
under Lieutenant Carter Berkeley made a daring dash down 
the pike and shelled the fleeing masses.^* This splendid and 

the platoon which had been in advance to another position still further 
to the rear — a movement which is called in the tactics 'retiring by eche- 
lons of platoons.'" MS. letter of Captain H. A. Du Pont to Lieutenant- 
Colonel Edgar, Oct. i, 1908. 

^^"We followed the enemy until they were out of sight. I found 
myself abreast of that regiment" (62d). "The Colonel and I called a 
halt . . . my battalion and his regiment were in advance of all the 
other infantry." MS. letter of Edgar to (?), May 9, 1895, in possession 
of Henry A. Wise. "Not long after I found myself near Colonel George 
H. Smith. . . . We soon saw that our commands were much in ad- 
vance of any other troops, and halted them." MS. letter of Edgar to 
Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896. 

12 "As we were pursuing the fleeing lines of the enemy, I, up to shoe- 
tops in the mud, getting on with difficulty. General Breckinridge and staff 
rode past me. The General said, 'Colonel, we are mightily scattered, but 
we are driving them.' " Ibid. A little later General Imboden found Breck- 
inridge muddy to the waist and all unmindful of the enemy's shells. "I 
learned that he had been much of the time ofif his horse during the whole 
day, mingling with and cheering his brave, tired, hungry, drenched, and 
muddy infantry and artillery." Imboden, "The Battle of New Market," 
place cited, IV, 485. 

13 MS. letter of George W. Gazeby (Second Lieutenant, Company D, 
54th Pennsylvania Regiment), to B. A. Colonna, May 27, 191 1. 

1* Lieutenant Carter Berkeley, "Fought with the Boys," (Baltimore) 
Sun, July 25, 1903. 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH 95 

effective handling of the Confederate artillery is one of the 
most remarkable episodes in the battle. At the beginning of 
the contest the Confederate gunners might seem to have been 
hopelessly outclassed, for the Federal army was dispropor- 
tionately strong in powerful guns. Altogether Sigel had 28 
cannon, consisting of three inch rifles and Napoleons, 22 of 
which he used during the greater part of the struggle. On 
the other hand the Confederates had upon the field 18 guns; 
but four, those of Jackson's Battery, seem to have done little, 
while Imboden took four of his cannon far over on the right 
flank, where they were of small use against the Federal batte- 
ries. Of the ten which remained, however, under the command 
of Major McLaughlin, the record is remarkable. At the be- 
ginning of the struggle they drove Snow's guns out of New 
Market. In the second part of the battle Von Kleiser's Bat- 
tery, stationed in the first Federal line, was partly disabled and 
forced to withdraw. Then when the Confederate advance was 
resumed, McLaughlin moved his guns forward along the pike 
to an eminence north of the town and close to the enemy, and 
not only engaged Ewing, Von Kleiser, Carlin, and Snow, but 
along with Derrick held the Confederate right against Stahel's 
cavalry. And finally when the victory had been won, Mc- 
Laughlin continued to move forward aggressively until the 
Federal troops had reached Rude's Hill. No better use of 
material was made in the battle, and nothing contributed more 
to the Confederate success. 

Presently cartridge-boxes were replenished and order re- 
established, and preparations made for a final charge. To 
cover the retreat Sigel had posted part of his artillery and a 
portion of his army on Rude's Hill near the river-crossing. 
After four o'clock there was a cannonade for some time,^^ but 

15 MS. letter of Captain C. H. Minge (Cadet artillery) to Lieutenant- 
Colonel Edgar. 



^ THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

no more heavy fighting, for Sigel was unwilHng to make an- 
other stand. He realized that his new position was not a good 
one, that his army was not concentrated, and he says that his 
ammunition was exhausted/' He therefore abandoned Rude's 
Hill, and, taking the remainder of his army across the Shen- 
andoah, destroyed the bridge, and so cut off all pursuit." It 
is said that Imboden had been instructed to try to get around 
the Federal army and destroy this bridge in Sigel's rear dur- 

16 "I met General Sullivan, and after some consultation we came to 
the conclusion not to await another attack, for the reason that our losses 
were severe ; that the regiments that had sustained the brunt of the fight 
were nearly out of ammunition and would have no time to receive it from 
the train, which was in the rear, beyond the bridge ; that our position was 
not a good one, being commanded by the enemy's guns, posted on the 
hill in front of our left, and that in case of defeat we could not cross 
the swollen river, except by the bridge." Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenan- 
doah Valley," place cited, IV, 490. Cf. J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New 
Market, n; also MS. letter of W. M. Kirk (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 
27, 1909. The Cadets Avere not allowed to take part in the work at Rude's 
Hill. They were anxious to do so, but were probably almost exhausted. 
MS. letter of G. A. Davenport (C) to Preston Cocke, Jan. 28, 1895- 

17 "There was some cannonading, but nothing else was undertaken by 
the enemy for at least half an hour. I therefore directed the troops to 
withdraw to Mount Jackson, which was done slowly and in perfect order" 

Sigel, place cited, IV, 490. "I advanced upon Rood's Hill from 
which the enemy kept up a brisk artillery fire. On a near approach, how- 
ever, the fire ceased, and on reaching the top of the hill the rear of the 
enemy's column could be seen crossing the bridge at Mount Jackson. As 
soon as the passage of which was effected it was fired. My troops pur- 
sued to the river, when night setting in, and it being impossible to cross 
the river in its swollen condition, they were halted on Rude's Hill, where 
wet and weary thev bivouacked till morning." Breckinridge, Report. 
This bridge spanned the Shenandoah at Mount Jackson. War Records, 
ser. I, vol. XXXVII, part I, 486; Captain J. W. Parsons, in Confederate 
Veteran, XVII (March. 1909), np- The destruction of this bridge is 
described by Du Pont. "The bridge planking was torn up under my per- 
sonal direction by Quarter-master Sergeant Robert Sauthoff and the artifi- 
cers of light battery B. 5th U. S. Artillery. When we got ready to do 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH _ 07 

ing the progress of the battle.'' The Confederate officers have 
always bewailed the fact that Imboden was not able to carry 
out the plan as proposed, since, they assert, Breckinridge thus 
lost an opportunity to capture the whole Federal army/" 
Whether this be true or not one may hardly say, for the Con- 
federates had fought almost to the limit of their endurance, 
and their enemies though retreating were rather in confusion 
than badly broken. But on the other hand when it is remem- 
bered that the Federal forces had just been driven away from 
the strongest position in the vicinity, that their ammunition 
was exhausted, and that their trains were on the other side of 
the Shenandoah, that they were worn out by long marching 
and lack of iood,^" and that they were no doubt dispirited by 
continued failure and discouraged by the bad leadership which 
caused it, then there seems to be some reason for believing 
that if the bridge had been gone when they reached the river, 
while there would have been some desperate fighting, yet the 

this I sent to the officer commanding this detachment of cavalry (I did 
not know his name) to tell him that he must cross the bridge imme- 
diately as we were going to tear it up. This he did apparently with some 
reluctance, which I could not understand at the time. After the cavalry 
detachment had passed to the other side, on my order the bridge was torn 
up, I being the last man to cross it". MS. letter to Edgar, Oct. i, 1908. 

^^ See above, p. 42. 

^''J. S. Johnston, The Battle of New Market, 11. 

20 Colonel Moor thus describes conditions at the close of the day. 
"The manner in which this chaotic mass of wagons, horsemen, artillery, 
and stragglers moved on (sometimes two or three wagons abreast), was 
exceedingly fatiguing to the infantry, especially to those regiments that 
marched out with me on the 14th, they having been continually on their 
legs for two days and nights without a cup of coffee or even meat rations, 
numbers of them barefooted." War Records, ser. i, vol XXXVII part 
I, 81. . , y 



q3 the new market campaign 

day might have closed with the capture of Sigel and the over- 
whelming triumph of the Confederate army."^ 

That the battle had been fiercely fought and stubbornly con- 
tested is revealed by the heavy losses on both sides. Out of 
about 6,000 Sigel had lost more than 800, many of them pris- 
oners.^- Of about 4,500 Breckinridge had lost nearly 600." 
Sigel's losses were particularly heavy in the retreat from his 
second position back to Rude's Hill and the river;'* while in 
the terrible struggle on the Federal right parts of Wharton's 
command were almost cut to pieces, the 62d Virginia losing 
half its numbers, and the Cadets almost one quarter.^"" In 
addition to his losses in men Sigel lost many small arms, which 

21 On May 17 Imboden, who was then rebuilding the bridge, wrote to 
Breckinridge, "Enemy reported much disorganized and demoralized." War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I. 739; also 742-745- 

22 Major Lang of Sigel's Staff says that the Federal army lost 93 
killed, 552 wounded, 186 captured or missing; total 831. MS. Personal 
Recollections of the Battle of New Market. Cf. War Records, ser. i, vol. 
XXXVII, part I, 479-483. The 34th Massachusetts Regiment lost more 
than 200 out of 450 in line, while the detached company was nearly de- 
stroyed. Ibid., 85. The 54th Pennsylvania lost 174 out of 566. Ibid., 87. 

23 Killed, 42; wounded, 522; captured or missing, 13. Lang, Personal 
Recollections. This makes a total of 577. 

24 Imboden, "The Battle of New Market," place cited, IV, 485. Lieu- 
tenant Carter Berkeley says: "Now we had everything our own way; the 
poor, panic-stricken wretches were flying before us in easy range of our 
guns and relentlessly we poured the shot and shell into them. It was 
awful;" . . . (Baltimore) Sun, July 25, 1903. 

25 "The whole loss of the regiment" (62d) "in the fight was two 
hundred and forty-one out of an aggregate of about five hundred, includ- 
ing seven of the captains. These, it should be mentioned, were eleven 
in all" . . . Confederate Veteran, XVI, 570. The Cadets lost 9 killed 
and 48 wounded out of about 280. These figures are based upon the ex- 
haustive researches of Joseph R. Anderson, President of the Virginia 
Military Institute Alumni Association. Of all the commands the most 
terrific losses were suffered by the company of Missourians under Captain 
Woodson, which was during the battle attached to the 62d Virginia. Out 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH n^ 

99 

were abandoned in the fight, and five pieces of artillery, pos- 
sibly six.^° 

Thus Breckinridge had won a splendid victory, and had 
accomplished all that he had been ordered to do. His strategy 
had been entirely successful ; his boldness, his energy, and his 
daring, completely justified." The result of his success was 
for a short while to render Lee's flank safe, and keep his base 
of supplies untouched. All this Breckinridge, with a make- 
shift force hastily brought together, had been able to do against 

of 70 they lost 60 killed and wounded. MS. letter of James H. Dwyer to 
P. D. Stephenson, May 15, 1909; Edgar, Critical Notes; Rockingham Reg- 
ister, May 20, 1864, cited in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV. 491. 

26 A multitude of eye-witnesses have reported the capture of three 
cannon on the Federal right, where Snow's and Carlin's Batteries were 
posted. See above, p. 50; below, pp. 135-141. There is a well-established 
tradition that the piece taken by the Cadets was lost by Von Kleiser's 
Battery. The Federal left is said to have abandoned one piece when the 
first line was forced in the second part of the battle. MS. letter of Abra- 
ham Park (123d Ohio Regiment) to B. A. Colonna, Feb. 16 1911 Du 
Pont saw one piece left on the field at the close of the day' Letter to 
Edgar, Oct. i, 1908. Colonel J. S. Johnston asserts that Sigel lost five 
pieces of artillery. Battle of New Market, 11. Captain Frank Preston 
says the same. Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. Major P. J. Otey says 
"Six pieces of artillery were taken". Letter to Lieut.-Col. Shipp, April 14' 
1873. Captain Preston says that the Federal army lost about 1,000 small 
arms. Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

2^ The Daily Richmond Enquirer, May 18. 1864. after commenting 
upon the fact that the Confederates had marched fortv-nine miles and 
fought a battle in two and a half days, adds : "This simple statement will 
show our readers that celerity of movement, as well as vigor of action 
did not desert our cause when Stonewall Jackson died." "I have always 
regarded the New Market fight as the best planned and best managed 
fight in which I was engaged. General Breckinridge had few if any 
superiors on the field of battle. Besides being a man of wonderful cour- 
age, he had a ke_en eye to discern the strong and weak points of the 
enemy s position, skill in using his forces to the best advantage, and a 
celerity of movement which reminded me of Jackson. If he had com- 
manded m the Valley instead of Early, Sheridan would have found it far 
more difficult to drive our army out." Letter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar 
to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896. 



jOO THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

an army considerably more numerous than his own. He was 
able to do it because of his own admirable generalship, and 
because of the splendid qualities of the troops who fought 
under him; but also still more because of the clumsiness and 
misfortune of the man who opposed him. 

General Sigel may have been a good soldier, and undoubt- 
edly he was a brave man,'« but he should not have commanded 
the Federal army in the Valley of Virginia. After the battle 
he took credit for compelling the Confederates to concentrate 
their forces against him, thus giving Crook a free hand ; and 
this was indeed the main purpose of his expedition." Some 
years later''' he maintained that the battle of New Market 
was well and stubbornly fought, and that this was shown by 
the heavy losses of his own and of the enemy's army. He ex- 
cused the capture of his cannon, and asserted that he with- 
drew from Rude's Hill slowly and in good order, and that 
he retreated beyond Mount Jackson through no necessity of 
his own.'' His judgment upon his own campaign, as well as 

28 Colonel Wells of the 34th Massachusetts says: "Gen. Sigel was 
on his horse on the right of our line during most of the engagement, and 
in the hottest of the fire. How he escaped is a mystery to me." War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 85, 86. 

29 Ibid., 489. 

30 1884. 

31 Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," place cited, IV, 499- ^A 
his report to Brigadier-General Kelley, May 17, 1864: "After two days 
skirmishing, a severe battle was fought at New Market between our 
forces and those of Echols and Imboden, under Breckinridge. I had to 
withdraw our troops from the battle-field toward evening, and recrossed 
the Shenandoah. I will go back to my position behind Cedar Creek and 
accept another battle, if necessary. The troops are in very good spirits, 
but greatly outnumbered, as Breckinridge has evidently thrown his prin- 
cipal forces against me. I will, however, do my best and depend on your 
assistance. I wish that you would send me immediately the Fourth Vir- 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH lOi 

the Other Federal movements in the Valley just before and 
after, was that they were an utter failure; but he said this 
could not be otherwise since the Confederates were acting from 
interior lines; and because of this it was hopeless to attempt 
with 5,000 or 10,000 men, what at last had to be done with 
40,000.'' Much of this is probably true, at least in part, and 
yet Sigel was himself largely to blame. From the beginning 
of the campaign his movements had been dilatory.^' At no 
time did he display initiative or dash. In the battle itself he 
made excellent use of his artillery,'* and part of his infantry 
was well handled; but his troops were poorly arranged, and 
he made one fatal error for which nothing else could atone, 
he allowed himself to be drawn into battle when a large part 
of his army was not ready to fight.'" It is in the conduct of 

ginia Infantry, and the Second Maryland Infantry as there is no serious 
danger for Cumberland and New Creek, or other places west, as long as 
I can maintain my position here. Please inform General Crook by any 
means, and direct him to operate against Staunton, and to destroy if pos- 
sible the railroad between Staunton and Jackson Rivdr Depot." War 
Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 478, 479. 

32 Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," place cited, IV, 491. 

33 See above, p. 5. 

3* Breckinridge, Report. "Sigel's artillerists were especially excel- 
lent." MS. letter of W. Kemp (C) to General J. A. Goggin, March 2<^, 
1888. 

35 "We had attacked with the head of the column while the rear was 
several miles from the field, and it appeared likely (as it really resulted) 
that we would be whipped before we got our troops on the field." Cap- 
tain Franklin E. Town, in New Market Day, 82. Another Federal officer 
estimates that only about half of Sigel's army was actually engaged, and 
that those who fought were exhausted by the march of the night before. 
Lincoln, Life with the Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, 289, 290. 
"The writer has never forgotten the absolute mismanagement of that 
splendid body of veteran soldiers that composed Sigel's army" 
Major T. F. Lang, Personal Recollections of the Battle of New Market. 



J 02 T^^ ^^W^ MARKET CAMPAIGN 

his subordinates that the chief excuse may be found. The 
efHciency of the brigade commanders had been suspected by 
an observer early in the campaign.'" However this may be it 
would seem that Sigel had ordered the belated regiments to 
take their place in his line, and supposed that he could rely 
upon them in the battle." Whether there was lack of co-ope- 
ration or mere inefficiency on the part of his subordinates can- 
not now be known.'' At all events here as in so many other 
instances the Confederates were fortunate in the commanders 
who opposed them. 

The Federal commander reported that he had been over- 
powered by superior numbers, and losing the battle, would be 
forced to retire to Cedar Creek. Grant, utterly disgusted with 
the miscarriage of his plans in the Shenandoah, urged that 
another commander be at once appointed.'" Sigel's career was 

After telling how he dispatched courier after courier bidding Sigel hurry 
forward the remainder of his army, Major Lang says: "I mention this 
incident ... in the nature oi a charge against Sigel for his dila- 
tory action in bringing forward his troops. The battle of New Market 
was fought by the splendid handling of the entire force of the Confed- 
erates, while Sigel's army was brought into battle by detail,— two of his 
regiments not even getting to the field of battle." Ibid. 

36 "Our officers, high in place, do not enjoy the full confidence of the 
command. The two Acting Brigadiers— if they are to be judged by the 
condition of their own regiments— and is not such a fair test? are poor 
soldiers." Lincoln. "Diary," in Life with the Thirty-Fourth Massachu- 
setts Infantry, 260, 261. 

3" Lincoln, ibid., 289, 290. 

38 Cf. Rawling, History First Regiment Virginia Infantry, 170, 171. 

39 On May 17 Halleclc wrote to Grant: "I have sent the substance of 
your dispatch to General Sigel. Instead of advancing on Staunton he is 
already in full retreat on Strasburg. If you expect anything from him 
you will be mistaken. He will do nothing but run. He never did any- 
thing else. The Secretary of War proposes to put General Hunter in his 
place. Send him up immediately." War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVI, 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH 103 

over, and he soon resigned from the service.*** It may be ob- 
served that Hunter, who succeeded him, was neither more 
competent nor more successful.*^ 

Breckinridge sent in a brief report, saying that he had met 
the enemy and defeated him with heavy loss, driving him 
across the Shenandoah River.*^ For the present his work was 
done thoroughly and well. It was even possible for him to 
send some of his men from the Valley to strengthen Lee.*^ It 
is true that this work was shortly afterwards undone. New 
Federal armies pushed into the Valley, and despite fresh vic- 
tories the successors of Breckinridge were imable permanently 
to hold them back. Within a year the country was turned into 
a desert, and Lee's base of supplies was destroyed. But this 

part II, 840, 841. In his Personal Memoirs, II, 147, Grant says: "Sigel's 
record is almost equally brief. He moved out, it is true, according to 
programme; but just when I was hoping to hear of good work being done 
in the Valley I received instead the following announcement from Hal- 
Icck: 'Sigel is in full retreat on Strasburg. He will do nothing but run; 
never did anything else.' The enemy had intercepted about New Market 
and handled him roughly, leaving him short six guns and some nine hun- 
dred men out of his six thousand." just Deiore tne news came Grant had 
sent inquiry to Halleck to learn whether Sigel could not get to Staunton 
and stop supplies coming from there to Lee. He now asked that Sigel be 
removed at once. Ibid., II, 238; War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVI, part I. 
23, 24; vol. XXXVII, part I, 492. 

^"^ For his doings after New Market see his own account, "Sigel in 
the Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 490, 
491. 

*i Hunter was appointed May 19. War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, 
part I, 492, 493, 508. 

*- "This morning, two miles above New Market, my command met 
the enemy, under General Sigel, advancing up the Valley, and defeated 
him with heavy loss. The action has just closed at Shenandoah River. 
Enemy fled across North Fork of the Shenandoah, burning the bridge be- 
hind him." War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 87. 

*^ Ibid., 738; Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, II, 241. 



jQ. THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

was largely because the Federal authorities were able to draw 
upon new and inexhaustible supplies of men."* 

On the day of New Market all this was not foreseen. 
When the Confederate army camped near the battle-field that 
night there was rejoicing and congratulation, tempered by the 
sombre scenes of death around them. Their losses had been 
heavy. On the slopes and in the fields where the batteries had 
stood the dead lay scattered thickly. Up beyond the town in 
the orchard and in the wheat-field the bodies of the Cadets 
were lying. Twenty years later John S. Wise in words mem- 
orable for their pathos and beauty, told how when the battle 
was over, and when his own wound was bound up, he sought 
the fatal slope, and there found the bodies of his comrades." 

** General Imboden believed that the battle of New Market was the 
most important secondary battle of the war, since if Sigel had triumphed 
the whole Valley would have been at his mercy, because Lee could not at 
that time have spared any force as he did to check Hunter a month later. 
"The Battle of New Market," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, TV, 
485. It has been said that Lee was thus enabled to hold out a year longer. 

45 "It was hard, indeed, to recognize all that remained of Cabell, who, 
but a few hours before, had stood first in his class as a scholar, second as 
a soldier, and the peer of any boy that ever lived in every trait of physical 
and moral manliness. 

"A little removed from the spot where Cabell fell, and nearer to 
the position of the enemy, lay McDowell. It was a sight to wring one's 
heart. That little boy was lying there asleep, more fit. indeed, for the 
cradle than the grave. He was barely sixteen, I judge, and by no means 
robust for his age. He was a North Carolinian. He had torn open his 
jacket and shirt, and, even in death, lay clutching them back, exposing 
a fair breast with its red wound. I had come too late. Stanard had 
breathed his last but a few moments before I reached the old farm-house 
where the battery had stood, now converted into a hospital. His body 
was still warm and his last messages had been words of love. Poor Jack! 
Playmate, room-mate, friend — farewell. 

"Standing there, my mind sped back to the old scenes at Lexington 
when we were shooting together in the 'Grassy Hills'; to our games and 



THE CONFEDERA'TE TRIUMPH 105 

It was to commemorate their sacrifice that in 1903 was 
unveiled on the parade ground of the Virginia Military In- 
stitute the beautiful statue, "Virginia Mourning Her Dead," 
by Sir Moses Ezekiel, himself a former Cadet.*'' In 1898 there 
had been placed in Saint Matthew's Lutheran Cemetery, New 
Market, a monument to the Cadets and to the Confederate 
soldiers who fell in the battle.*^ 

In spite of the sadness in the Confederate camp that even- 
ing, humorous incidents abounded. The town of New Market 
was filled with soldiers laughing, feasting, carousing. Many 
were the laughable tales told.** When the members of the 

sports ; to that day, one week ago, when he had knelt at the chancel and 
was confirmed; to the previous night at the guard-fire when he con- 
fessed to a presentiment that he would be killed; to his wistful, earnest 
farewell when we parted at the baggage-wagon, and my heart half re- 
proached me for ordering him into the fight. The warm tears of youthful 
friendship came welling up for one I had learned to love as a brother; 
and now, twenty-four years later, I thank God that life's buffetings and 
the cold-heartedness of later struggles have not dammed the pure foun- 
tains of boyhood's friendship. A truer-hearted, braver, better fellow never 
died than Jacquelin B. Stanard." "The West Point of the Confederacy," 
Century, XXXVII, 470, 47i- 

*^ New Market Day, V. M. I. Also (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, 
June 24, 1903; (Baltimore) Sun, June 25, 1903. On the same day Armi- 
stead C. Gordon read his beautiful poem beginning: 

''How shall the eternal fame of them be told, 
Who, dying in the heyday of life's morn. 
Thrust from their lips the chalice of bright gold 
Filled to the brim with joy, and went forlorn 
• Into the abysmal darkness of that bourn 

Whence they who thither go may nevermore return." 

"New Market: A Threnody." New Market Day, 48-50; (Richmond) 
Times-Dispatch, June 24, 1903. 

*'' (Baltimore) Morning Herald, May 13, 1898. 

*s Captain Henry A. Wise relates to this day how the fragment of a 
shell having shot away all his garments from one particular place, he 



Io6 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Cadet Battalion dragged themselves back hungry, footsore, 
and exhausted, they were given a rousing reception by the 
townsfolk, while the veterans, who that morning had jeered 
with banter and mirth, greeted them with applause, and gen- 
erously accorded them full share in the victory. 

To the veterans of Breckinridge and Imboden the battle of 
New Market was but an incident, however glorious, in a series 
of campaigns. Some of them had seen much fighting, some 
of them were to see much more, and many of them were soon 
to lay down their lives in defense of the Valley. But to the 
Cadets this was the one day in a lifetime. They were thanked 
by General Breckinridge;*^ and they were given an ovation 
in New Market town.^° This was repeated all along the line 
of march through the Valley." Meanwhile they had been 

hunted around desperately for clothes enough to sit on. Account given 
to the author. "I remember well when you lost your coat-tail and the seat 
of your trousers." MS. letter of H. C. Bowen (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
May 5, 1909. Some years ago another comrade told how Captain Wise 
after awing all the young Cadets with his puritanical aspect, and admon- 
ishing them never to swear, himself swore in terrific fashion during the 
progress of the fight. Memorial Address of Hon. John S. Wise, 31 ; also 
"Address," Nezv Market Day, 58. 

*» See above, p. 88, note 57. 

^^ "The ladies of the town also overwhelmed us with tenderness, and 
as for ourselves we drank in greedily the praise which made us the lions 
of he hour." J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Confederacy," place 
cited, 470. 

^''^ Ibid., 471, "At Harrisonburg, at Staunton, at Charlottesville, every- 
where, an ovation awaited us such as we did not dream of, and s^h as 
has seldom greeted any troops." "I know that when we marched down 
the Valley Pike the day after the battle, that all the old Confederate vete- 
rans lined both sides of the road and cheered us to the echo. It was the 
proudest day of my life" . . . MS. letter of A. P. Thompson (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, April i, 1909. Also MS. letter of Louis C. Wise (C) to 
Henry A. Wise, April 26, 1909. 



THE CONTEDERATE TRW MP H 107 

ordered to Richmond, and their progress thither was one of 
triumph.^" When they arrived there a flag was presented to 
them in Capitol Square in the presence of a vast throng of 
spectators by the Governor of Virginia in behalf of the state ;^' 
and this was done on the same day that there was communi- 
cated to them the resolution which had been passed by the 
Confederate House of Representatives, thanking them for 
their gallant conduct.^* After a short service in the works 
around Richmond they were sent back to Lexington ; but they 
had hardly arrived there when the invasion of Hunter forced 
them to withdraw. It was at this time that in retaliation for 
the part played by the Cadets, Hunter burned the Virginia 
Military Institute and all the buildings connected with it.^^ 
Returning to Lexington again after Hunter had been driven 
off, the Cadets were furloughed until fall, when they were 
ordered to Richmond again, and after serving in the lines 
below the city, were later placed in quarters in the almshouse 

^2 J. S. Wise, "The West Point of the Confederacy," place cited, 471. 

63 Ibid. 

5* MS. Journal of the Confederate House of Representatives, First 
Session, Second Congress, May 23, 1864. (Richmond) Daily Dispatch, 
May 28, 1864; Daily Richmond Enquirer, Daily Richmond Examiner, 
Richmond Whig, May 28, 1864. "The Confederate Congress thanked us 
for what we had done, and appointed Bocock, the speaker of the House, 
C. S., to deliver it to us, which he did from the steps of the Capitol in 
Richmond. At the same time President Davis thanked us in the name of 
the Confederacy. The governor thanked us in the name of the state and 
presented us with a new flag, and hoped we would defend it as heroically 
as we had the old." MS. letter of W. M. Kirk (C) to Henry A. Wise, 
April 27, igog; also MS. letter of W. M. Patton (C) to the same, June 
10, 1895; MS. letter of W. Kemp (C) to General J. A. Goggin, March 
25, 1888. 

^5 June 12, 1864. See his report, August 8, 1864, in War Records, ser. 
I. vol. XXXVH, part I, 97. Cf. ibid., 759. 



loS THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

nearby, where academic studies were resumed and continued 
with many interruptions until the evacuation of the city. 
Meanwhile of the veterans who had stood with them on New 
Market field many had already gone to death in the last fierce 
battles fought for the dying Confederacy. 

Such was the battle of New Market. It was a small battle, 
in an obscure and secluded corner of the South, and at first 
sight it might seem to have been preserved to memory among 
a thousand other conflicts mainly by virtue of the romantic 
incidents which attended it. This is not true, for the con- 
test was important in itself. But more than this, it is well 
worthy of study as a type. One of the things which does most 
to give enduring interest to the story of our Civil War is the 
matchless endurance with which the people of the Southern 
Confederacy, hopelessly outnumbered, held out during four 
years of continuous warfare. When wellnigh every man who 
could bear arms had been pressed into the service and there 
were no more to fight ; when their supplies were exhausted and 
their munitions were almost gone ; when the blockade had shut 
them in from the world, and the loss of their great river had 
cut the states in two; when their strong fortresses had been 
taken, and whole tracts of their country had been turned into 
a desert ; still the people of the Confederacy held out so stead- 
fastly that until the very end it seemed nearly impossible to 
subdue them. If the causes of their ability to do this be 
sought, they may be summed up particularly in these two 
things : the ability and skill of their generals ; and the splendid 
qualities and patriotism of their soldiery. These things were 
displayed in numberless battles and sieges, some of them mem- 
orable conflicts which the world will not soon forget. Per- 
haps, however, they can nowhere be studied to better advan- 
tage than in those first two weeks of May, 1864, when Im- 



THE CONFEDERATE TRIUMPH IO9 

boden and Breckinridge hastily gathered their meager squad- 
rons and in dire need called out the boys of a training school ; 
then hurrying forward by forced marches, struck the enemy 
with lightning blow, drove him off defeated, and kept their 
country secure. After which they dispersed their scanty forces 
to guard again the borders of their country. 



APPENDIX A 
The Opposing Armies. 

THE UNION ARMY.— Major-General Franz Sigel. 

First Infantry Division. — Brigadier-General Jeremiah C. Sullivan. 

First Brigade. — 'Colonel Augustus Moor. 
i8th Connecticut — Major Henry Peale. 
28th Ohio — Lieutenant-Colonel Gottfried Becker. 
ii6th Ohio — Colonel James Washburn. 
123d Ohio — Major Horace Kellogg. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel Joseph Thoburn. 

1st West Virginia — Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Weddle. 
I2th West Virginia — Colonel William B. Curtis. 
34th Massachusetts — Colonel George D. Wells. 
S4th Pennsylvania — Colonel Jacob M. Campbell. 

First Cavalry Division. — Major-General Julius Stahel. 

First Brigade. — Colonel William B. Tibbitts. 

ist New York (Veteran) — Colonel R. F. Taylor. 

1st New York (Lincoln) — Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Adams. 

* I St Maryland, P. H. B.— Major J. T. Daniel. 
21 st New York — Major C. G. Otis. 

* 14th Pennsylvania — Lieutenant-Colonel William Blakely. 

Second Brigade. — Colonel John E. Wynkoop. 
t 15th New York— 
t 20th Pennsylvania — 
t 22d Pennsylvania — 

* Detachment. 

t Small detachment. 

1 10 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL GABRIEL C. WHARTON, 
C. S. A. 





vy 



^ 



THE OPPOSING ARMIES m 

Artillery — 

B, Maryland — Captain Alonzo Snow. 

30th New York— Captain Albert Von Kleiser. 

D, 1st West Virginia — Captain John Carlin. 

G, 1st West Virginia — Captain C. T. Ewing. 

B, 5th United States — Captain Henry A. Du Pont. 

"The effective strength of Sigel's command was about 6,500, 
about 5,150 men and 22 guns being available in the battle."^ 

Sigel gives the numbers of his forces as 5,500 infantry and 
artillery, 1,000 cavalry, and 28 guns.^ 

A study of the evidence makes it probable that after the 
losses of the preceding days the Federal army did not amount 
to more than 6,000 men. 

THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.— Major-General John C. Breckinridge. 

Echols' 5n^aJ^.— Brigadier-General John Echols. 

22d Virginia Regiment — ^Colonel George M. Patton. 

23d Virginia Battalion— Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence Derrick. 

26th Virginia Battalion— Lieutenant-Colonel George M. Edgar. 

Wharton's 5ng-aJ^.— Brigadier-General Gabriel C. Wharton. 
5 1 St Virginia Regiment — Colonel Forsberg. 
30th Virginia Battalion— Colonel Lyle Clark. 

Imhoden's Bn^arf^-Cavalry.— Brigadier-General John D. Imboden. 
62d Virginia Regiment ^ — Colonel George H. Smith. 
23d Virginia Regiment — Colonel Robert White. 
i8th Virginia Regiment— Colonel George W. Imboden. 
Gilmor's Maryland Battalion — Major Harry Gilmor. 
Davis's Maryland Battalion * — Major Sturgis Davis. 
Partisan Rangers— Captain John H. McNeill. 

Cadet Corps (four companies). — Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp. 

1 "The Opposing Forces at New Market, Va., May 15, 1864," Battles 
and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 491. 

- "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," ibid., 488. 
8 Mounted infantry. 
■* Detachment. 



112 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Artillery. — Major William C. McLaughlin. 
Chapman's Battery — Captain Chapman. 
Cadet Battery Section — Captain C. H. Minge. 
McClanahan's Battery ^ — Captain McClanahan. 
Jackson's Battery — Captain Jackson. 

An estimate of the Confederate numbers is given by Gen- 
eral Imboden, "as shown in reports furnished me by Col. Wm. 
S. Lincoln." « 

Infantry 

General G. C. Wharton's Brigade, 1,400 

Attached 62d Virginia Regiment, 570 

General John Echols' Brigade, 1,250 

Attached Battalion of Cadets, 220 

Captain W. I. Hart's Eng. Corps, 

3,440 

Cavalry 

Imboden's Brigade, two Regiments, 800 800 

Artillery 

McClanahan's Battery, 6 guns, 120 

Chapman's Battery, 6 guns, 120 

Jackson's Battery, 4 guns, 80 

Cadet Section, 2 guns, 30 

350 

Total, 4.590 

A note in the margin shows that the aggregate force might 
amount to 4,898. 

' Attached to Imboden's Brigade. 

* MS. copy in possession of Henry A. Wise. 



Tfm OPPOSTNG 'ARMIES II3 

General Sigel, in an estimate based on the official reports, 
placed Breckinridge's strength as follows:' 

Wharton's Brigade, 1,578 

Echols' Brigade, 1,622 

Engineer Company, 56 

Cadet Corps, 227 

Company of Missourians, 70 

Jackson's Battery, 100 

Chapman's Battery, 13S 

McClanahan's Battery,* 93 

Cadet Section, 35 

Imboden's Cavalry,^ 900 

Total, 4,816 

A partial and apparently hasty statement by Colonel J. 
Stoddard Johnston, of Breckinridge's Staff, May 21, 1864, 
gives the following numbers: 

Echols' Brigade Total effective. Total present. 

22d Virginia, 514 549 

26th Virginia, 441 478 

23d Virginia 393 429 

1,348 1,456 

Total 

Wharton's Brigade effective. Present. Aggregate. 

Field and staff, 2 2 8 

51st Virginia, 588 607 643 

62d Virginia, 288 308 334 

30th Virginia, 260 282 303 

Jackson's Battery, 83 85 90 

1,221 1,284 1,378 

'' Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 491. 
^ Given as "Callahan's." 

' Not including the 62d Virginia Regiment with Wharton's Brigade. 



jj. THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Other commands are named, but the numbers are not 
given/" 

Colonel George H. Smith, after much study, estimates the 
Confederate infantry as follows:" 

22d Regiment, 500 

62d Regiment, 500 

51st Regiment, ^27 

Cadets, 221 

26th and 23d Battalions, 800 

30th Battalion, 30O 

2,958 

This would seem to be somewhat under the truth. An 
earlier estimate is probably somewhat more accurate :^- 

Infantry, 3,220 

Cavalry, 800 

Artillerymen, 120 

4,140 

After a comparison of the different estimates, and after 
making allowance for underestimate to the same extent that 
allowance was made in considering the strength of the Fed- 
eral army, I conclude that Breckinridge had on May 15 an 
army of about 4,500 men. 

The strength, then, of the opposing armies was 

Infantry. Cavalry. Artillerymen. Total. Guns. 

Federal, 4,700 1,000 300 6,000 28 

Confederate, 3,400 900 200 4,500 18 

1" MS. copy in possession of Henry A. Wise. 

11 MS. notes in possession of B. A. Colonna. 

12 Confederate Veteran, XVI, 571. 



THE OPPOSING ARMIES 

The relative strength of the combatants in artillery may 
be seen from a summary: 

Federal— 5 batteries, 28 guns. 

Carlin's— six 3-inch rifled guns. 

Snow's— six 3-inch rifled guns. 

Du Font's- six 3-inch rifled guns. 

Von Kleiser's— six 12-pound Napoleon guns. 

Swing's- four 3-inch guns. 

Confederate— two batteries and three sections, 18 guns. 
Chapman's— four 12-pound howitzers, two 6-inch guns. 
McClanahan's — six guns. 
Minge's section — two guns. 
Jackson's — four guns. 

The actual fighting was not done by nearly so many, how- 
ever. The Confederate cavalry took practically no part in 
the battle, and it is doubtful whether Breckinridge had more 
than 3,000 men in line at any time. On the other hand Sigel 
lost the battle because his army was scattered along the line 
of march in detached fragments. The 28th and ii6th Ohio 
Regiments arrived on the field when the battle was practically 
over. They contained 740 men. The 12th West Virginia and 
part of the artillery were kept in the rear. The i8th Con- 
necticut and the 123d Ohio gave way without serious resist- 
ance. The strength of these two regiments was 926 No 
effective use was made of the cavalry. Probably not more 
than 4,000 men were concentrated against the Confederates 
and probably no more than 2,000 bore the brunt of the 
fighting. 

It may be remarked that a careful measurement of the bat- 
tle-field has shown that as the Confederates were arranged 
no more than 2,100 could have marched in line in the struggle 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

on Bushong s Hill. On both sides many were crowded to the 
rear or were compelled to fight behind their comrades 

in accordance with a custom which has held unbroken 
sway since the time of Herodotos and Jordanes, a great many 
rough, popular, baseless estimates have been made, character- 
ized by gross exaggeration, misapprehension, and underesti- 

""^ Colonel George M. Edgar at one time believed that Sigel 
had from 10,000 to 15,000 men, and that Brenckinridge had 

^,400 all told." . . r A 

John W. Adams, 34th Massachusetts Regiment, believed 

that Sigel had 1,500 men, Breckinridge 8,000.^* 

Sigel himself thought that the Confederate force numbered 

Major William McLaughlin, who commanded the Confed- 
erate artillery, says: Federals about 8,000; Confederates, 

about 3,000." ^ 1 . r- 

General Scott Shipp, who commanded the Cadet Corps, 
says': Confederates, about 3,200; Federals, 7,000 to 8,000. 
Some years before he had put the Confederate force at 3,400 
to 3,500." 

13 MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896. 
i*MS. letter to B. A. Colonna, Feb. 23, ipn- 

15 "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of the Civil 
War, IV, 488. 

16 MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, Jan. 27, 1897. 

17 MS. letter to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 15, 1897. 

18 MS. letter to A. P. Young, April 28, 1873. 



APPENDIX B. 
General Sigel. 



P^RANZ SIGEL was one of the most illustrious of all the 
JL immigrants who came from Germany to America. Like 
Carl Schurz he left his old home in consequence of the revo- 
lutionary agitation of 1848 and 1849. Although unsuccessful 
as^a general and apparently lacking executive ability as an 
independent commander, he possessed to the full those solid 
and sterling qualities which have made the men of his race 
such excellent citizens in their adopted home. 

He was born at Sinsheim, Baden, in 1824. In 1848 he 
took a prominent part in the revolutionary movements in 
Baden, and in the next year when the radicals resorted to arms 
he was a member of the provisional government and minister 
of war. When the movement collapsed he.led the remains of 
the revolutionary army into Switzerland. The outlook in the 
Fatherland then seemed so hopeless that in 1852 he emigrated 
to the United States. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War Sigel at once entered the 
service of his adopted country, organizing a regiment of in- 
fantry and a battery of artillery, and taking an active part 
m the early campaigns in the West. He was at Carthage and 
at Dug Springs, and conducted the retreat of the Federal army 
from Wilson's Creek. For these services he was made briga^ 
dier-general of volunteers, and after his timely charge at Pea 
Ridge, which decided the issue of the battle, he was made 
major-general. He was then removed to the East, receiving 
command of Harper's Ferry, and later taking part in the cam 



117 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 
ii8 

paien which ended hi the second battle of Bull Run. In 1864 
'he was put over the Department of West Vi'-g-a, and •„ -" 
junction with Crook undertook to destroy the Confederate 
power in the Valley of Virginia. Here, however, h>s fortune 
Alnged, and either because he was not fitted to manage a 
ampa gn or because he was confronted by abler antagonists, 
he met with speedy and signal defeat. He was replaced by 
Hunter, and although in July he successfully defended Mary- 
Ld Hdghts against Early, he found that he had lost the con- 
fidence of his superiors. He resigned m May, 1865. 

His later years were spent quietly. For some time he wa 
in public life as register of New York Cty, and later ps 
United States pension agent in the same place. During sev- 
eral years he published the Ne^ York Monthly, a German- 
American periodical. He died in I902.> 

1 For a part of this Information I am indebted to the article in the JVot 
International Encyclopedia. 



APPENDIX C. 
General Breckinridge. 

JOHN CABELL BRECKINRIDGE^ was born at Lex- 
ington, Kentucky, in 182 1. He was of distinguished an- 
cestry. On his mother's side he was descended from John 
Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and in other ways he was connected with some of 
the greatest famiHes in the South, notably the Breckinridges, 
the Prestons, and the Cabells, of Virginia. 

After studying law at Princeton he went west, and after 
a while settled permanently at Lexington. Here his splendid 
talents caused him to rise at once to the top of his profession. 
During the war with Mexico he served with distinction under 
General Scott, after which he returned to Kentucky, and there 
entered political life. In 1849 he was elected to the state 
legislature, and in 185 1 as Democratic candidate for the 
United States House of Representatives he defeated his oppo- 
nent in one of the strongest Whig districts in the country, 
displaying such qualities in this contest that he was there- 
after one of the foremost men in the political affairs of his 
state. 

By 1856 his reputation was so great that although he was 
but thirty-five years of age, he was unanimously nominated 
as candidate for the vice-presidency of the United States by 
the Democratic Convention at Cincinnati. In i860, against 

1 This sketch is largely based upon the Address on the Life and Char- 
acter of General John C. Breckinridge, by Brigadier-General John Echols, 
New Market, Va., 1877. 

"9 



120 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

his will, it is said, he was nominated for the presidency at 
Baltimore. During the dark days which followed the election 
of Lincoln he was sent to Washington as senator. Presently 
when the results of the election had caused the South to look 
with dread upon her union with the North, when Southern 
members were leaving Congress daily, Breckinridge, though 
an ardent State Rights man and strongly favoring the South, 
remained at his post to the last, exhibiting, as his admirer said, 
all the dignity and high resolve of a senator of old Rome." 
Only when he thought that the last hope of reconciliation was 
gone did he withdraw. He then went quietly to his native 
state. 

After his return to Kentucky it is said that he designed 
to follow the fortunes of that commonwealth. What would 
have been the outcome of this intention one may not say now, 
since he was forced to decide more quickly. In a short time 
he fell under the suspicion of the Federal authorities, who de- 
termined to arrest him. Before this could be done, however, 
he escaped and entered the service of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. Here his work was brilliant and his rise rapid. Enter- 
ing with the rank of brigadier-general, he was speedily raised 
to the rank of major-general, and as such took part in the 
fighting at Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Mis- 
sionary Ridge, New Market, Cold Harbor, and Monocacy. 
During the winter of 1864-5, when the Confederacy was in 
its death-throes, he was called to administer the War Depart- 
ment, and in Richmond he remained until the city was on fire. 

When Lee and Johnston had surrendered he advised Presi- 
dent Davis that the result be accepted, and the war be brought 
to a close; but when the end came he himself fled from the 

2 Echols' Address, p. 10. 



GENERAL BRECKINRIDGE 12 1 

country. Three years later when sectional hatred had died 
down a little, he returned to take part in the heroic task of 
building up his shattered country. In 1875 his death came 
after a lingering illness. 

This man who in peace displayed all the nobleness, the dig- 
nity, and attractive qualities, together with the eloquence and 
ability, of the leader and the statesman, was a Bayard in battle, 
and a skilful and daring general in war. His splendid pres- 
ence and stately bearing won the admiration of his soldiers, 
and after forty-five years they still speak with admiring devo- 
tion of his magnificent bearing as he galloped past them at 
New Market.^ To this feeling was added their confidence in 
his tried ability and skill as a commander. In 1864 his repu- 
tation was at its height. 

s"We learned its import as Breckinridge and his staff approached, 
and we joined in the huzza as that soldierly man, mounted magnificently, 
dashed past us, uncovered, bowing, and riding like the Cid." John S. Wise, 
"The West Point of the Confederacy," place cited, p. 466. "Before the 
battle I had ridden up to where Geneiral John D. Imboden and staff 
were on an eminence southwest of the town. Just then General Breckin- 
ridge and staff went there too. I think he was the handsomest man I ever 
saw." Captain J. W. Parsons. i8th Virginia Cavalry, Confederate Vete- 
ran, XVII, 119 (March, 1909). 



APPENDIX D. 
The Positions of the Commands. 

THE question as to the positions of the different com- 
mands when the Federal army was drawn up in its 
second position and the Confederates renewed their advance, 
has given rise to a great deal of controversy and difference of 
opinion; yet a correct account of this part of the battle can- 
not be written until each command has been assigned defin- 
itely to its proper place. 

In the case of the Federal army there is not so much diffi- 
culty in ascertaining the order in the lines. Sigel has himself 
described the arrangement. The right, he says, was held by 
Carlin's and Snow's Batteries near the river-bluff, with three 
regiments of infantry to their left, the 34th Massachusetts, 
the I St West Virginia, and the 54th Pennsylvania. The center 
was made up of the i8th Connecticut and the 123d Ohio, with 
Von Kleiser's Battery between. On the left was Stahel's cav- 
alry and Ewing's Battery. The 12th West Virginia and Du 
Pont's Battery, he says, were posted behind the right as a 
reserve. The 28th and 11 6th Ohio were in the rear at Rude's 
Hill.^ While this account requires modification as regards 
some details, it is nevertheless substantially correct if it be 
understood that the available portion of Moor's Brigade, the 
18th Connecticut and the 123d Ohio were some distance in 
advance of the other commands, so that there were in the 
second part of the battle two distinct lines. 

1 Sigel, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of the 
Civil War, IV, 489, 490. 

122 



BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOHN ECHOLS, 
C. S. A. 



POSITIONS OF TBB COMMANDS 1 23 

Colonel Wells of the 34th Massachusetts says : "After con- 
siderable maneuvering our line was formed about where it was 
the night before — the artillery on the right, on rising ground, 
resting on the river; the Thirty-fourth in line, its right on 
the battery, its left touching a dirt road; other regiments on 
our left, and one in column in our rear."^ Colonel Campbell 
of the 54th Pennsylvania says : ''We at once deployed into 
column by division to the left and rear of the 12th Virginia, 
which regiment shortly afterward moved toward the right, 
unmasking us, and about the same time my regiment was de- 
ployed and took position on the left of the First Virginia and 
on the extreme left of the line of battle.''^ Here he evidently 
means the extreme left of Thoburn's Brigade. Colonel Moor, 
in command of the first or advanced line of the Federal army, 
which covered the left of Thoburn's Brigade, and which vir- 
tually constituted the center of the Federal army, says : "I 
was now ordered to fall back" (that is from the first position 
about New Market) "some 800 yards to the rear of my first 
position, and to form the One hundred and twenty-third Regi- 
ment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and Eighteenth Connecticut on 
the right of a battery."* According to Major Peale the i8th 
Connecticut was to the right of the 123d Ohio.° Thus far the 
reports of Sigel's subordinates corroborate his statement 
almost entirely. 

There has been some uncertainty about the positions of 
the batteries, however. It has been thought by some that Von 
Kleiser's guns were on the right next to Carlin's, and that 
Snow's were in the center. Snow's Battery had undoubtedly 

2 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 83. 

3 Ihid., 86. 
* Ibid., 80. 
''Ibid., 82. 



124 ^^^ ^'^^^ MARKET CAMPAIGN 

been there in the first part of the battle,*' but after the with- 
drawal from New Market it was certainly removed to the 
right. Von Kleiser's Batter)^ is said by Sigel to have been 
between the i8th Connecticut and the 123d Ohio/ but Colonel 
Moor declares that it was to the left of both these regiments,* 
and he was probably better informed as to the truth. Never- 
theless so long as Moor's line held its position, there can be no 
doubt that this battery remained in the center. When the first 
line was put to rout, however, the guns were most probably 
withdrawn, though there is no record of this movement. That 
they were withdrawn to the Federal right, near to the 34th 
Massachusetts, however, seems fairly certain. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Lincoln, describing the formation of Sigel's second 
line in this part of the battle, says : "Meanwhile the troops 
composing the 2d Brigade, which in reality formed our only 
line of battle, were placed in position, under the immediate 
direction of General Sigel himself. 'On the extreme right 
were two Batteries (Snow's and Carlin's), close to the woods 
reaching down to the river. Von Kleiser's on an eminence in 
the center, a little advanced; and Ewing's on a ridge on our 
extreme left; the cavalry behind our right and left centre."® 
As the Cadets advanced in their charge they came into con- 
flict with Von Kleiser's Battery, and it has been supposed by 
some that the Cadets were stationed on the right of the Con- 
federate line, in which case they could have crossed the posi- 
tion which Sigel says the battery occupied." The part of the 

6 Report of Col. Moor, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 79. 
' Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. 
8 War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 80. 
^ Lincoln, Life with the Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry, 281. 
1° Dr. Humphreys and Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar in communications to 
tlie author. 



POSITION'S OF THE COMMANDS 1 25 

line occupied by the Cadets, however, is fixed indubitably by 
the Bushong- House around which they passed, and the line 
vv'hich they must have followed in marching beyond the house 
would have brought them to the place where Colonel Lincoln 
says Von Kleiser was stationed/^ As to the position of 
Ewing's Battery there is no dispute: it was certainly on the 
left of the Federal infantry line, near Stahel's cavalry. Sigel 
asserts that Du Font's Battery was in the rear of Thoburn's 
Brigade as a reserve,^^ but Du Font himself has said that it 
was far in the rear and did not reach the field of battle until 
three o'clock in the afternoon. ^^ 

It is far more difficult to discover the positions of the Con- 
federate commands, because there are no detailed official re- 
ports from the Confederate commanders, and because the posi- 
tions were changed as the three lines were shifted into one. 

After these changes had been made some of the commands 
occupied positions about which there can be no dispute. Thus 
there is no doubt that the 26th Virginia Battalion was on the 
extreme left/* and the 23d Virginia Battalion on the extreme 
right.^^ To the right of the 26th Battalion was the 51st Vir- 
ginia Regiment.^^ To the right of the 51st was the 62d Vir- 
ginia Regiment." To the right of the 62d was the 22d Vir- 

11 See below, p. 129. 

12 Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489. 

13 MS. letter to Edgar, Oct. i, 1908. 

"MS. letter of Edgar to Henry A. Wise, Feb. 18, 1896; Edgar, MS. 
Critical Notes; Humphreys, "Battle of New Market," Times-Dispatch, 
October 8, 1905. 

15 MS. statement written by Lieutenant-Colonel Derrick for Edgar. 

1^ Captain D. H. Bruce (51st Virginia Regiment), Confederate Vete- 
ran, XV, 554. 

17 Colonel George H. Smith, ibid., XVI, 570. 



126 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

ginia Regiment.^® To the right of the 226. was Derrick with 
the 23d BattaHon. As to the positions of these commands 
after one long Hne had been formed there is now no contro- 
versy. It is far more difficult to ascertain the whereabouts of 
the Cadet Corps and the 30th Virginia Battalion. 

As to the Cadets, Breckinridge in his report says : "Upon 
the crest of this hill I formed my left of Wharton's Brigade. 
The Corps of Cadets was placed in the center, and Echols with 
his right resting upon the turnpike completed my line of bat- 
tle." ^® The report of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp is as follows: 
"Wharton's brigade of infantry constituted the first line; 
Echols' brigade the second. The battalion of cadets, brigaded 
with Echols, was the last battalion but one from the left of 
the second line, Edgar's battalion being on the left." ^° Ac- 
cordingly it has been said again and again that the Cadets 
were between Wharton and Echols. The error lies in the fact 
that while these statements are roughly true for one stage of 
the advance, they are not necessarily true for later stages'. So 
well informed a critic as Captain Wise, who commanded one 
of the companies of the Cadets, and who led the Battalion in 
their final charge, maintained for a long time that they were 
on the right of the 626., the end of Wharton's line.^^ 

Equally troublesome has been the assertion of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Derrick: "I saw the Cadets go into action on line 
with me and to my left." "Trees and obstacles hid all of our 
left from me except the Cadets, and at least two of them 

'^^Confederate Veteran, XVI, 570; MS. statement of Captain Thomp- 
son (22d Virginia Regiment) written for Edgar. 
^8 Breckinridge, Report. 

20 Report in War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 90. 

21 Statements to the author. 



POSITIONS OF THE COMMANDS 12/ 

came to my battalion for a time. They behaved bravely and 
stood up to the music." " As Derrick was on the extreme 
right of the Confederate line this has been interpreted to prove 
that the Cadets were the last command but one on the right 
of that line.-^ Nevertheless the proximity of the Corps to the 
23d could have existed only when the Cadets were held as a 
reserve, and not when their charge was made over Bushong's 
Hill. 

It would seem that the Cadets changed heir position in 
the same manner and in the same direction as the 26th Bat- 
talion. Of the details of this change little is known, ^* so that 
the conclusion must be made rather from circumstances which 
arose after the change had taken place. 

For the most part there has been substantial agreement 
that the Cadets were near the 62d Virginia, but there has been 
the greatest uncertainty as to whether they were to right or 
the left of that regiment. Many writers have asserted that they 
were to the right, and some of the best informed critics believe 
this at the present time. There can be no doubt, however, 
that they were to the left. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln has described the charge of the 
Cadets. "The Sixty-second Virginia," he says, "which formed 
the extreme left of the attacking force, advanced directly 
against us. To the right of the Sixty-second were the Cadets. 

" MS. statement of Derrick written for Edgar. 

23 The assertion made by Captain Town that the Cadets charged and 
took Von Kleiser's Battery near which he was standing, has been thought 
to confirm this interpretation, because Sigel says that this battery was on 
the left of the Federal line. See above, p. 124. 

2* "We had before this gotten into the front line." Report of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Shipp, War Records, ser. i, vol. XXXVII, part I, 91. See 
above, p. 74, note i6a. 



I ,8 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

The line of advance was a little diagonal to that of our forma- 
tion, and as it was continued the Sixty-second passed beyond 
and the Cadets came directly to our front." ^^ The 62d was 
not at either end of the Confederate line, but of Wharton's 
Brigade it was the extreme right, but not the extreme left. 
When, therefore, Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln says that it was 
the left, his statement is only intelligible when it is under- 
stood that he is using the terms "right" and "left" from his 
own point of view, so that these terms must be reversed when 
applied to the movements of the Confederate line. His state- 
ment would then be that the Cadets were to the left of the 
62d. If this is not his meaning, then not only is his state- 
ment not true, but the thing could not have taken place, since 
the space between the 34th Massachusetts Regiment and the 
Shenandoah River would have been so narrow that it would 
have been physically impossible for the 26th Battalion, the 
51st Rgiment, and the 62d Regiment to have made any ad- 
vance at all. 

That the Cadets were not upon the right of the 62d is as- 
serted with the utmost conviction by Colonel Smith, the com- 
mander of that regiment, who offers in proof of his conten- 
tion the fact that the 22d Regiment was to his immediate 
right. "With regard to Patton's position I speak from my 
own knowledge. I do not, of course, mean to say, that I was 
sufficiently familiar with his regiment to recognize the men, 
but Patton himself, — who was my first cousin, — I had known 
intimately from our early infancy; and I at least know that 
a large body of troops commanded by him came up on my 
right, and advanced with my regiment. This body I origi- 
nally supposed was Echols' Brigade, commanded by Patton; 

25 (Richmond) State, April 4, 1888. 



POSITIONS OF THE COMMANDS 



129 



but as I afterwards learned that Edgar's Battalion was on the 
extreme left, and Derrick's on the extreme right of the line, 
the inference is conclusive that it was Patton's Regiment only. 
I will add that he and I soon came together, and continued 
throughout the advance, elbow to elbow, conversing about the 
fight; and that while we were thus together, shortly after pass- 
ing the enemy's line, the two regiments marching in double 
rank, and in regular formation, Breckinridge rode up, and 
wanted one of us to take his horse." ^^ 

But the most effective proof that the Cadets were to the 
left of the 626., and between the 62d and the 51st, is the 
fact that their line of march took them up to the Bushong 
House, at which the command divided, part going around one 
side, and part around the other, the companies uniting again 
beyond the house." There is no dispute as to this.^^ Now 
this house is still standing, so that its position with respect to 
other points on the battlefield can be accurately measured. 
Had the 62d Regiment been to the left of the Cadets when 
they passed the Bushong House there would have been so 
narrow a space that the three commands in this part of the 
field could not possibly have maneuvered; while the assump- 
tion that the Cadets were to the right of the 22d, that is, that 
the 22d and 62d were both to the left of the Cadets and the 
Bushong House, simply makes the impossibility more absurd. 
As to the 62d Colonel Smith declares that it was always to 
the right of the house and near to the turnpike.^'' 

26 MS. letter of Colonel Smith to Henry A. Wise, October, i, 1910. 
'^ See above, p. 77. 

28 I have received a very detailed statement from Captain Henry A. 
Wise, as well as numerous letters from Cadets, among others. MS. letter 
of J. T. Bransford (C) to Henry A. Wise, Nov. 10, 1910; MS. letter of 
B. A. Colonna (C) to the author, Dec. 11, 191 1. 

29 MS letter of Colonel Smith to Henry A. Wise, Oct. i, 1910. 



I^o THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Finally the part of the held in which the Cadets made 
their charge may be identified in the description given by 
Captain Frank Preston of the Corps, a few days after the 
charge was made. He says, "Still we pressed on, till we came 
to an orchard about two hmidred yards from the enemy's line 
on the hill, and a battery of four pieces, on the right of the 
infantry. The battery, as I learn from prisoners, was Snow's 
Maryland Artillery, and the infantry, the 34tli jMassachu- 
setts." '" 

A comparison of all this testimony seems to make it cer- 
tain that the Cadet Corps, when it took its place in the front 
line, was with the Confederate left, between the 51st Regi- 
ment and the 62d.^^ 

It is just as difficult to ascertain the position of the 30th, 
Clarke's Battalion. It is known that at least some of the men 
of this command were thrown forward as skirmishers in the 
first part of the battle, and it seems probable that the different 
portions of the Battalion were not reunited afterward, but 
fought in fragments attached to other commands.*" Part of 
the Battalion skirmished before the 51st Regiment. When 
the battle was joined it fell back into the space between the 
51st and the 62d Regiments, the space into which the Cadets 
entered also.** There are reasons for believing that another 

30 Letter in Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

31 This was asserted by General Gabriel C. Wharton when he revisited 
the battlefield in 1898 and was giving his reminiscences ; by Captain Bruce 
of the 51st Regiment, and by O. P. Evans, Cadet, Confederate Veteran, 
XVI, 569, 571 ; and by Robert E. Wolfe of the Sist Regiment, MS. letten 
to B. A. Colonna, June 23, 191 1. 

32 MS. letter of Colonel Lyle Clarke to Henry A. Wise, March 25. 
1895. 

33 MS. letter of Lieut.-Col. Shipp to A. P. Young. April 28, 1873. This 



POSITIDNS OF THE COMIIANDS 131 

part of the Battalion was on the right between the 22d and 
the 23d.'* 

The Confederate artiUery was on the right of the Con- 
federate Hne throughout the battle. For the most part its 
line of advance lay along or near the Valley turnpike. It was 
under the general command of Major William McLaughlin, 
who was at times directed by Breckinridge himself. Under 
McLaughlin's immediate supervision were Chapman's Battery 
of six guns, part of Jackson's Battery, part of McClanahan's 
Battery, and the section under Captain Minge. Four guns 
of McClanahan's Battery had gone across Smith's Creek with 
Imboden, and were posted upon a hill in the bend of the 
stream. 

is borne out by plans of the battle made by Major Peter J. Otey (30th 
Battalion) in 1873, and also by his letter to Lieut.-Col. Shipp, April 14, 1873. 
3* Confederate Veteran, XVF, 570, 571. 



KEY. 

1 Third echelon on Shirley's Hill ; a, 26th Battalion ; h, Corps of Cadets. 

2 Second echelon on Shirley's Hill ; a, 22d Regiment ; b, 23d Battalion. 

3 First echelon on Shirley's Hill; a, 51st Regiment; b, 626. Regiment. 

4 Confederate artillery on Shirley's Hill, under McLaughlin. 

5 Cadet Battalion in reserve, marching down Shirley's Hill. 

6 Second echelon sheltered by hill, just before advance upon second Fed- 

eral position; a, 22nd Regiment; b, 23d Battalion. 
6^ 26th Battalion attached to left of second echelon, before moving for- 
ward to left of first echelon (7^). 

7 First echelon sheltered by hill, just before advance upon second Fed- 

eral position: a, 51st Regiment; b, 62d Regiment. 
71 26th Battalion forming left of first echelon. 

8 Two sections of Snow's Battery in New Market. 

9 Federal troops in New Market; first Federal position. 

10 Imboden's cavalry. Confederate right, to south of woods, before mov- 

ing to cross Smith's Creek. 

11 30th Battalion, Confederate skirmish line. 

12 First (Moor's) line in second Federal position; a, i8th Connecticut 

Regiment; b, 123d Ohio Regiment; c, Von Kleiser's Battery. 

13 Confederate artillery under McLaughlin in advanced position, firing 

upon second Federal line upon Bushong's Hill. 

14 Second Confederate line defending Confederate right; a, 22d Regi- 

ment b, 23d (Derrick's) Battalion extended in skirmish line. 

15 Cadets in reserve behind Wharton's line, just before reaching the 

Bushong House. 

16 26th (Edgar's) Battalion marching behind 51st Regiment, because of 

bend in river. 

17 51st Regiment marching on both sides of ridge near river. 

18 62d Regiment in hollow after retreat from advanced position at 19. 

19 62d Regiment in advanced position on Bushong's Hill. 

20 Company of 34th Massachusetts Regiment supporting Federal artillery 

on Sigel's right. 

21 Federal artillery on extreme Federal right, near river-bluffs; a, Car- 

lin's Battery ; b, Snow's Battery. 

132 



KEY 133 

22 Von Klciscr's Battery on summit of Bushong's Hill, after retreat from 

Federal first line (12c). 

23 Thoburn's Brigade, Federal second line, on Bushong's Hill; a, 34th 

Massachusetts Regiment; b, 1st West Virginia Regiment; c, 54th 
Pennsylvania Regiment. 

24 Ewing's Battery. 

25 Federal cavalry under Stahel. 

26 Imboden's artillery and cavalry across Smith's Creek, on Federal left 

flank. 

27 Du Font's Battery in most advanced position, covering Federal retreat. 

28 I2th West Virginia Regiment in reserve. 



T 



APPENDIX E. 

The 26th Battalion and the 51ST Regiment. 

.HE conduct of Edgar's men as compared with that of 
^ the men of the 51st Regiment, and the relative merits 
of the two commands, have been the subject of bitter, even 
acrimonious controversy. Whether the 26th or the 51st dis- 
lodged the Federal troops on the river bluffs and captured the 
guns whether the 26th remained idle in the rear of the 51st, 
or whether the day was ^ved in this part of the field by the 
advance of the 26th through the disordered ranks of the 51st, 
these queries have been the cause of mutual accusation, re- 
crimination, and disparagement. As it is better that the dis- 
pute be brought to an end the history of the controversy wi 
not be traced here, but the evidence will be presented. It will 
not be possible to satisfy all of those concerned, but it is 
proposed to enable the curious to decide for themselves from 
the statements which have been furnished by the interested 

^""'on August 8, 1864, Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar rendered 
the following report: "I respectfully submit the following re- 
port of the part which mv Battalion bore in the engagement 
at New Market. . . • When the Division was drawn up 
in line of battle to attack the enemy at New Market, my Bat- 
talion was held as a reserve in rear of the 23d Virginia Bat- 
talion of this Brigade. It was shortly afterwards ordered to 
take position on the left of that battalion, and in rear of Gen- 
eral Wharton's Brigade. It was kept in that part of the line 
until the Division reached the base of the hill upon which the 

134 



THE 26TH AND THE f,iST 1 35 

enemy's line was formed. It was then ordered to take posi- 
tion on General Wharton's left, and occupied this part (the 
extreme left) of the line during the engagement. Before 
reaching the crest of the hill I found it necessary (because of 
the course of the river) to throw my left wing in rear of the 
right, and still later, to throw my Battalion in rear of the 
Regiment on its right. As the ground would admit of it 
(in advancing) the companies of the left wing were succes- 
sively thrown into line. When the Battalion reached the crest 
of the hill, a heavy fire was opened upon the Regiment in our 
front, and it gave way. I at once ordered my Battalion for- 
ward to its support ; and though my line was a good deal 
broken in passing through that of the Regiment, it advanced 
steadily until the enemy gave way, when we took possession 
of two pieces of his battery. As my Battalion advanced, a 
portion was detached to dislodge a flanking party of the enemy 
that had taken position in the cliffs near the river. To co- 
operate with and protect the detachment referred to the Bat- 
talion was thrown further forward during the pursuit than 
the rest of the line. 

"It is due to the Regiment that gave way at the commence- 
ment of the action to state that the officers and men who com- 
pose it soon rallied upon the right and left of my Battalion, 
and fought gallantly, and during the pursuit formed in their 
proper place on the right. 

"The officers and men of my Battalion, with but few ex- 
ceptions, fought well throughout the engagement. The fol- 
lowing were conspicuous, under my own eye, for gallantry, 
viz : Captain John O. Carr, Adjutant H. B. Craig, Lieutenant 
G. W. Hines, Lieutenant James F. Patton. and Color-bearer 
George A. Woodrum. The following officers and men at- 
tracted by their good conduct and gallantry the attention of 



136 ^^£ NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

their company commanders, viz : Sergeant Woods, Corporal 
Brown, and Private Joseph Wagoner, Company A; Lieu- 
tenant W. W. George and Privates James Keatley, Archibald 
Miller, and John E. Woodbine, Company H; Lieutenants 
Davidson, Stickley, and Branson, Company L 

"The aggregate number of officers and men engaged was 
about 425. The casualties were as follows: three (3) killed 
and twenty-one (21) wounded."^ 

Edgar's account, which is one of the three reports of the 
battle of New Market known to have been written by Con- 
federate officers, is the most important document connected 
with this controversy. It was written shortly after the battle. 
The statements contained in it are simple and definite. Dur- 
ing half a century of writing and correspondence Colonel 
Edgar has reiterated these statements as he first gave them. 
In itself it would possess very great authority and weight, but 
it is corroborated by numerous accounts written by the men 
who served with him in the battle. 

"This is to certify that I was present at tlie battle of New 
Market on May 15, 1864, and was in the charge made by 
Edgar's Battalion on the extreme left of the line, and know 
that our Battalion did take the Yankee battery of two pieces 
of artillery on that hill, and say this without fear of successful 
contradiction." ^ 

"On the morning of the battle we were detached from our 
brigade and moved to the extreme left as supports to the 51st 
Virginia Infantry, which led the assault on the enemy's right. 
This position was a hill on which was a battery supported by 

IMS. Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar to Captain R. H. Catlett. 
A. A. G., August 8, 1864. 

2 MS. affidavit of Major Richard Woodrum (26th Battalion), March, 
1906. 



THE 26TH AND THE 51ST 137 

infantry. The 51st, having broken under the enemy's fire, we 
were pushed rapidly to the front. During this advance I re- 
ceived an order from you through Adjutant Craig to dislodge 
a squad of the enemy on the river bluffs on our extreme left. 
I gave an order to 'left oblique.' This order was obeyed by 
only a part of the company, the right files and both my first 
and second lieutenants not having heard it, pushed for the 
enemy's battery in their front. Very shortly we met the 
broken troops coming back and passing through our line, 
which was thrown into a good deal of confusion as it ad- 
vanced. On gaining the top of the hill, the enemy's sharp- 
shooters at once fled from their position on the bluff, and I 
found I had no force in my front, but had completely over- 
lapped the enemy's right flank. I half-wheeled, fired, and we 
rushed the guns. Before we reached them, the enemy aban- 
doned the position and retreated, and when I reached the bat- 
tery, there were a good many of our men around the captured 
guns." ^ 

"In a very short time after reaching the summit of the 
hill, I very distinctly heard you give a command to move for- 
ward and take the battery that was nearly in front of the bat- 
talion. Your men at once started to obey that command, not 
moving merely at a double-quick, but at as rapid a run as the 
very muddy condition of the ground to be passed over would 
permit. They captured the battery and held it, the enemy be- 
ing so thoroughly routed that they made no effort to rally and 
try to retake the pieces. . . . That your battalion was 
in the front on the top of the ridge, is very clear to my mind, 
and that it led in the charge to take the battery, I know, for 
I was in a position where I could see the rush made for the 

3 MS. statement of Captain E. S. Read (26th Battalion), March 29, 
1906. 



138 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

pieces, and knew that the rush was made in obedience to your 
command. I heard your command very distinctly, for I was 
not many paces from you." * 

"This is to certify that I was a member of Captain E. S: 
Read's Company, 26th Virginia BattaHon, and was in the bat- 
tle of New Market, May 15, 1864; and was in the charge 
made on the hill on the extreme left of our line; and say un- 
doubtedly that Edgar's Battalion did capture the Yankee bat- 
tery; and that I was among the first to lay hands on these 
guns." ^ 

"Our battalion, the 26th Virginia Volunteers, was placed 
. . . behind . . . the 51st Virginia, and when that 
regiment went over the hill-top, it fell back under the first 
volley of the enemy. Colonel Edgar ordered the 26th . 
to push right through; the men responded gallantly, and 
though our line was broken by the way we went in, the men 
pushed forward rapidly and never stopped" (until they) 
"reached the battery of the enemy, captured two guns, and 
pressed forward in pursuit," ® . . . 

"When we reached the line of the rest of the regiment, we 
found it wavering and in much disorder. We pushed through 
and charged on, drove the enemy from his position, and cap- 
tured three pieces of artillery. I do not remember what the 
51st Regiment did on the field after we passed through its 
line, but I distinctly recollect that we were in front when the 
enemy retreated, and were foremost in the pursuit." '' 

*MS. statement of Lieutenant G. W. Hines (26th Battalion), February 
20, 1906. 

5 MS. statement of W. W. Jones (26th Battalion), March, 1906. 

« MS. statement of Captain F. C. Burdette (26th Battalion), April 
23, 1906. 

■^ MS. statement of Lieutenant J. W. McDowell (26th Battalion), 
March 24, 1906. 



THE 26TH AND THE 51ST 139 

''When the" (51st Regiment) "reached the crest of the 
hill, it was subjected to a heavy fire from the enemy and broke 
to the rear, when Colonel Edgar ordered the 26th Virginia 
Battalion forward, and we pushed through the retreating regi- 
ment and advanced upon the enemy, and put them to flight, 
and took two pieces of artillery. This I saw with my own 
eyes. After pressing a considerable distance beyond the bat- 
tery, being distanced by the enemy, we were halted and dressed, 
and waited there for some time before the center of the brig- 
ade overcome the part of the line in its front and came up on 
a line with us. As we came up Colonel Edgar sent a detach- 
ment to the left on the river, to drive back some sharpshooters 
that were assailing us on the flank," ® 

"When we reached the wheat-field on the top of the hill, 
we came under a very heavy fire of artillery and infantry. 
Climbing over or throwing down the fence, we advanced into 
the fields in a pouring rain. I soon noticed that a line of our 
troops in front of us began to give way. Soon they fell into 
disorder, and I could see plainly that the enemy was slowly 
advancing and pressing them back. I, and all, I think, under- 
stood that a critical time in the battle had come. You and 
other officers called loudly from the front of our line for us 
to hold our ground and press on. The men of the regiment, 
running and forcing themselves through our line, threatened 
the solidity of it and the force of our attack. It was then that 
you ran along the front of your line, cheering on your men, 
apparently, and calling out some orders which, owing to the 
din of battle, I could not hear distinctly, until you came oppo- 
site me, when I distinctly heard you say, 'Captain, do not let 

8 MS. statement of Lieutenant T. H. Kirkpatrick (26th Battalion), 
February 15, 1906. 



I40 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

those men break through your hne, draw your pistol on them 
(or shoot them), if they will not halt.' You then ran along 
the line, giving, as I suppose, the same warning order, while 
you checked some retreating men yourself. I did not know 
then to whose commands these retreating men belonged. We 
were then very heavily engaged for some time, but the rapidly 
falling rain interfering much with the firing of the guns, 
made but little progress, but at length pressed forward slowly, 
all fighting well and with fine spirit and determination. It 
was about this time that General Breckinridge rode along 
through our line to where you were, and I heard him say, 
'Colonel, we are driving them,' to which you replied, 'Yes, 
General, but we are much broken (or scattered).' We began 
to move more rapidly as the enemy gave way, and hastened 
their retreat, capturing some of them. Reaching the fence at 
the further side of the wheat-field, we were halted to dress our 
line and allow the stragglers to get up. Then with a rush 
and great cheering we charged the battery, driving its infantry 
supports away, and capturing some guns." ^ 

"Upon reaching the crest of the hill in front, the enemy 
poured in volleys from both infantry and artillery ; two pieces 
of the latter being directly in front of the battalion. This 
heavy firing caused the 51st Virginia Regiment to give way, 
and it fell back in disorder through the ranks of the 26th 
Virginia Battalion. In spite of this demoralization, the bat- 
talion moved forward and captured the two pieces of artillery 
referred to. The enemy being routed, the army moved for- 
ward some distance and was halted for reformation. The 
26th Virginia Battalion maintained its position on the extreme 

9 MS. statement of Captain T. C. Morton (26th Battalion), March, 
1906. 



THE 26TH AND THE 51ST I41 

left, but now lined up with the 62d Virginia Regiment. Dur- 
ing this formation, General Breckinridge rode up to Colonel 
Edgar and addressed him, as the writer recollects, as follows : 
'Colonel, the men are a little scattered. I want you to detail 
an officer and have him take some men with him to the rear 
and gather the stragglers, as I think the enemy is reforming 
on Rude's Hill, and we will have to charge them.' " ^° 

"When we entered the fight we were exposed to a heavy 
fire from a battery that was stationed near the top of a hill 
to reach which we had to pass through a pretty heavy body of 
woods. ... As we ascended this hill, the 51st Virginia 
Regiment fell back through our battalion, causing some con- 
fusion and disorder. But as soon as they got through our 
line, our battalion reformed on our colors . . . pressed 
on up the hill and captured the battery. The formation on 
which the battery . . . was stationed was such that in 
capturing the battery our battalion had to swing somewhat 
to the right. Just after the capture of this battery, we were 
being subjected to a very galling infantry fire from what 
turned out to be some sharpshooters on our left front, and I 
was ordered to dislodge them and keep a lookout on our 
left flank, in doing which I was separated from the main 
body of the troops for a while, but at length came back with 
some prisoners, rejoining the battalion after its lining up with 
the 62d Virginia Regiment. The latter regiment and the 
Corps of Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute were under 
a most destructive fire as we emerged from the woods after 
we captured the battery." " 

^° MS. affidavit of Lieutenant W, W. George (26th Battalion), March 
6, 1906. 

" MS. statement of Captain John O. Carr (26th Battalion), March 25, 
1906. 



142 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

In general criticism of this testimony it may be said that 
these statements corroborate each other in ahnost all respects, 
and are in accord with the report which Edgar himself origi- 
nally rendered. They are undoubtedly made by men who be- 
lieve what they say, and who have good reason for believing 
it. On the other hand the only document which has original 
and contemporary value is the commander's report, and un- 
fortunately this is not supported by any other contemporary 
evidence. The other statements made by the officers and men 
of the 26th have no contemporary value, and are therefore 
liable to the defects which arise from failing memory and in- 
correct interpretation. There is no doubt that the evidence 
presented is strong, and without further corroboration it might 
be received if it were not disputed. It has, however, been 
sharply attacked by the men of the 51st Regiment. 

It may be said at once that the evidence presented by the 
the men of the 51st Virginia is slighter both in magnitude 
and value. It does not rest upon any documents written im- 
mediately after the battle. It is less coherent, more scattered, 
and more conflicting. 

Unfortunately Brigadier-General Wharton, who led the 
51st at New Market, seems to have made no official report of 
the battle. In after years he described the conduct of his com- 
mands with emphasis and repetition, but his accounts show the 
inevitable inconsistency which results from fading recollec- 
tion and lapse of time. There is no doubt, however, that he 
was unwilling to allow the claims made by the men of the 
26th, and ascribed the success on the Confederate left to the 
gallantry and persistence of the 51st. In 1906 he declared 
that when the Confederates drove back the Federal right wing, 
one gun was captured by Company B of the 51st, another by 
the 51st and the 26th together, and two by the Cadets. "Cap- 



THE 26TH AND THE 51ST I43 

tain Tate was shot by my side, just after we had captured the 
battery on the extreme right. I had just directed him to 
order his men to fire to the right obhque to strike the enemy 
in flank. As he turned to give the order he was pierced by 
the fatal ball, and fell at my feet." '' 

Colonel Forsberg, commander of the 51st, was, at the time 
of the battle, sick in Lynchburg. His accounts, therefore, 
have not the value of oi^iginal information. Almost imme- 
diately, however, the news reached him. A day or so after 
the battle he wrote as follows: "On May 15 occurred the bat- 
tle of New Market. General Breckinridge defeated and routed 
forces under General Sigel. The conduct of my regiment 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Wolfe, in this engagement, was 
highly complimented. The casualties were 103 killed and 
wounded, among which we mourn the loss of Captain Wil- 
liam H. Tate, a gallant officer and one of my most intimate 
friends." '^ 

That the 26th did not advance through the 51st, that the 
51st took a leading part in the attack upon Sigel's position, 
and that the 51st captured the guns on the Federal right, have 
been asserted by members of the regiment with force and 
earnestness. 

"General Wharton, who had gone to the left of the regi- 
ment at the time of the final charge . . . directed Cap- 
tain Tate to fire right oblique towards the battery. Just at 
this moment Captain Tate fell, and the General commanded, 
'Company B, right oblique, fire.' The charge was now gen- 
eral along the whole line of the regiment. The center of the 

12 MS. letter of General G. C. Wharton to G. W. Dunford, March 26. 
1906. 

13 Colonel Forsberg. MS. Memoranda, no date, but the following entry- 
is under May 18. 



144 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



regiment fired left oblique. In less than five minutes the bat- 
tery was ours. I was at the center of the regiment with Com- 
pany A, on the right of the flag. You will observe that this 
battery was between the center and the left of the 51st. I 
passed within thirty yards of the battery without stopping, 
urging the men forward. The men on the left passed right 
through the smoking battery without halting." " 

''The enemy at the pike or west of it in three or four col- 
umns, one supporting the other, charged our center. 
Here with a simultaneous action there appeared to be dis- 
order in our ranks, the men breaking out and pushing forward 
with a deep, long drawn out Confederate yell . . . we . . . 
had covered half the distance to the enemy's guns, and about 
fifty yards from their front, when my left leg was paralyzed. 
A ball had struck me just above the knee. From this point 
I could see the whole of the enemy's force in the action, and 
could see the whole of our line, which but a moment before 
had seemed to sway in the center as a rope in the wind. It 
had now righted itself, and was moving forward in perfect 
order, and the enemy were moving back stubbornly but in dis- 
order." " 

"I did not so much as see Edgar's Battalion, and I know 
they did not run over us. . . . Just at the time the enemy 
began to retreat your brother, William H. Tate, was shot by 
a canister shot from the artillery we were charging, and fell 
on my left foot. I picked him up and carried him to the rear 
where several men took charge ©f him, and I followed the 
retreating enemy" ^® . . . 

14 MS. letter of R. E. Wolfe (51st Regiment) to C. B. Tate, June 7, 
1911. 

1^ MS. Reminiscences of G. W. Dunford (51st Regiment). 

i« MS. letter of G. S. Bralley (51st Regiment) to C. B. Tate, Jan. 
28, 1911. 



THE 26TH AND THE 51ST 1 45 

"I know that Edgar's Battalion was not, nor were any- 
other troops, on our left until after we had charged and taken 
the battery. ... I state that the 51st Virginia Regiment 
captured that battery. General Wharton says so, Colonel 
Forsberg says so, and a number of the company yet living, 
who took part in the battle, know positively that we did cap- 
ture the battery. Any statement to the contrary, I care not 
by whom it is made, is absolutely false." In November, 1864, 
the writer visited General Breckinridge. "We talked quite a 
while of all the battles fought in the Valley during the sum- 
mer. He had a great deal to say about the battle of New 
Market, and the part that the Cadets took in it, and was loud 
in his praise of Wharton's Brigade and the 51st Virginia 
Regiment, and made special mention of the battery that we 
captured." " 

"We were confronted by the 34th Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, and we captured Colonel Lincoln's horse, and also two 
pieces of artillery. The battery was a very little to my left. 
We were within about 200 yards of it when they abandoned 
two pieces and passed out with the rest. It has been said that 
Edgar's Battalion ran over the 51st in that battle, but the 
man who says that was not there." ^^ 

"The regiment (51st) then made a charge with the old 
rebel yell. There were certainly no troops before us. We 
charged forward, but before we got to them, they broke ranks 
and left their cannon, and were running in disorder." ^^ 

"I question if Edgar's Battalion fired one shot until the 
battery was driven from the bluff." ^° 

1^ MS. statement of Samuel Stone (51st Regiment). 
^8 MS. letter of F. M. Lindamood (51st Regiment) to B. A. Colonna, 
May 28, 191 1. 

i»MS. statement of W. E. Wampler (51st Regiment). 
2f»MS. letter of D. H. Sayers (51st Regiment) to C. B. Tate, April 
3, 191 1. 



J46 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

In comment it may be said that an examination of all 
the evidence here presented leads to the conclusion that Edgar's 
case is far stronger than that of the 51st. His evidence is 
greater in volume, more logical and convincing, and possesses 
a larger contemporary value. In so far, then, as all of these 
statements may be considered accurate and made in good faith, 
and in so far as judgment is to be made from these state- 
ments, the judgment should be made in his favor, and in this 
work the judgment has been so made. 

It is very probable, however, that most of these ex parte 
assertions are either consciously or unconsciously exaggerated. 
The men of the 51st seem to have exalted their steadiness, 
as Edgar's men have no doubt overrated the importance of 
their exploits. There is little doubt that the 51st did fall 
into confusion, and did waver. No stigma should result 
from this, since the 51st Regiment was sent forward in 
advance of the remainder of the Confederate left to lead a 
forlorn hope. It bore the brunt of terrific fighting while 
Edgar's men were safe behind. The loss of the 51st was 
more than a hundred ; that of the 26th, twenty-four. There 
seems to be equally little doubt that when the crisis came 
the men of the 26th did press forward on the extreme left, 
and flank the Federal army on the river-bluff. But to assert 
that this battalion could have done such work alone or un- 
aided is as idle as to declare that the Cadets by themselves 
could have stormed a battery and driven off a regiment. The 
26th would have gone forward to destruction if the 51st and 
the adjoining commands had not pressed Sigel's men in front. 
As regards the captured artillery, there were reasons why 
conflicting claims could arise afterwards. To the left of the 
51st the 26th captured three guns from Carlin's Battery, 
to the right the Cadets took one, or possibly two guns' from 



THE 26TH AND THE 51 ST 1 47 

Von Kleiser. What part the men of the 51st took directly 
in these exploits cannot now be positively known, though it 
is the opinion of the author that they participated to some 
extent directly; but since they bore the brunt of the fight 
unaided at first, and since after their temporary confusion 
they rallied and fought well, there can be no doubt that in- 
directly they did contribute a great deal to the taking of the 
Federal cannon. 



APPENDIX F. 

Account by Cadet N. B. Noland. 

«T NOTICED just in front of my company an orchard and 
X a dwelling house, and I think it was about here that the 
enemy's fire was most destructive to our Battalion. We went 
through the yard very close to the house, and it seems to me 
that a short distance beyond this house we were ordered to lie 
down behind the remnant of a worm-fence, about two rails 
high. Noticing Shriver, Cadet Captain of C Co., going fur- 
ther to the front, I followed him, and when about 30 yards in 
front of the line I saw him fall, or, as I supposed at the time, 
lie down for protection. At that I dropped as flat as I could 
in a furrow, and with my face close to the ground I could see 
a clear space next to the earth under the cloud of smoke, and 
right in front, covered by the smoke like a tarpauling, I could 
see emerging the felloes and 12 inches of the spokes of what 
I think may have been the wheel of a Yankee gun. 

"As well as I can make it out, my position was right be- 
tween the Cadets and the Yankee battery and line of battle. 
The distance between the fence-row occupied by the Cadets 
and the Yankee front could not have been more than 200 
yards. 

"The fire was furious at this time. It seemed to me I saw 
pieces of paper caught up and swept towards us by the cur- 
rents of air set in motion by the projectiles, and the boughs of 
a large tree immediately in my front were all stretched out 
and swaying towards us. I believed I was bound to get killed, 
but I did not want to get killed out of ranks, so I made a 

148 



HHT HOIK V/ II ; 



THE BUSHONG ORCHARD, THROUGH WHICH THE 
CADETS ADVANCED, AND WHERE THEY SUFFERED 

THEIR SEVEREST LOSSES. 



ACCOUNT BY N. B. NOLAND j^g 

spurt back to the line and scuttled in behind 2 rails alongside 
of some fellows. 

"Whilst lying here with the air literally filled with Yankee 
missiles, each one of which seemed to miss me only by a scant 
sixteenth of an inch, I noticed the Color Sergeant of a body 
of troops on our left and rear, jump up, and along with the 
Color Guard run to the front and establish himself upon the 
prolongation of our line. 

"In a second a number of his regiment were running to 
the front and grouping themselves around him. I saw them 
falling like jackstraws, on their backs, faces, sides and knees. 
Then the flag, which had been perfectly erect in the centre of 
the group, dipped almost to the ground, but some one had it 
up again in a moment. Then the regiment arose with a yell 
and rushed into line. 

"Just then some fellow jumped up right near me, and by 
his voice I knew him to be Evans, our Color Sergeant. He 
sang out in a powerful, clear voice : 'Captain Wise, take com- 
mand! Col. Shipp has fallen!' In the same second I saw 
Captain H. A. Wise spring to the front with drawn sword 
(as did Captains Preston and Robinson) and give the order 
to rise — then, / think, charge." ^ 

1 Letter of N. B. Noland (C) to Charles Read, Esq., Oct. 18, 1895 
MS. in possession of Henry A. Wise. 



APPENDIX G. 
The Alumnos of the Colegio Militar. 

THE conduct of the Cadets at New Market is to some 
extent paralleled by that of the Cadets of the Mexican 
Military Academy when the American troops stormed Chapul- 
tepec, September 13/1847. Like the Southern lads seventeen 
years later these Mexican youths fought side by side with the 
older troops and made a desperate resistance to the enemy. 
"Una vez los asaltantes dentro del recinto, eran duefios de la 
mayor parte del Colegio Militar : los alumnos, reunidos con 
algunos soldados, ocuparon el jardin que queda sobre el mir- 
ador y alii hicieron una resistencia tenaz y vigorosa, que ad- 
mi ro el enemigo, aunque tuviesen al fin que sucumbir." 
"Murieron . . . varios alumnos."^ 

"The castle was' completely torn to pieces; nearly every 
part was riddled by our shot, while the pavements and forti- 
fications were completely torn up by the shells. In it were 
crowds of prisoners of every rank and color; among whom 
were . . . about a hundred cadets of the Mexican military 
academy. The latter were pretty little fellows, from ten to six- 
teen years of age. Several of them were killed fighting like de- 
mons, and indeed they showed an example of courage worthy 
of imitation by some of their superiors in rank." ^ 

1 Manuel Balbontin, La Invasion Americana, 1846 a 1S48. Apnntes 
del Suhteniente de Artilleria, Mexico, 1883, p. 131. 

2 Letter in New York Courier and Enquirer, quoted in E. D. Mans- 
field, The Mexican War, 298, 299. Cf. Don Jose Maria Roa Barcena, Re- 
cuerdos de la Invasion Norte- Americana, 1846-1848 por un J oven de Bn- 

150 



ALUMNOS OF THE CO LEG 10 MILITAR 



151 



tonces, Mexico, 1883, p. 483. According to the last author the "Asocia- 
cion del Colegio Militar" celebrates the event every year, while a monu- 
ment has been erected in commemoration. Cf. also Apuntes para la His- 
toria de la Guerra entre Mexico y los Estados-Unidos, Mexico, 1848, pp. 
315, 316. 



APPENDIX H. 
The Cadets and the Capture of the Cannon. 

THE question as to the part taken by the Cadets in the 
capture of the Federal cannon will probably never be 
answered to the satisfaction of all. The only thing known 
with certainty is that five guns were taken by the Confederates, 
and there is a possibility that six were captured.^ Two pieces 
were captured on the Federal right during the battle, and one 
was afterwards found abandoned in a pond. One piece is said 
to have been abandoned on the Federal left, and another was 
discarded on the field during the last part of the retreat. This 
would make the five guns which Sigel declares he lost. But 
if these statements are correct, it would seem that six cannon 
must have been taken. The Cadets captured one gun beyond 
any doubt, and there has been a very persistent tradition that 
it was taken from Von Kleiser's Battery." This battery was 
certainly never by the river-bluffs where the three cannon were 
taken, and while it was for a while undoubtedly on the Fed- 

1 1 make this assertion with the weight of the testimony against me, 
basing it upon an analysis of the evidence. See above, p. 71. 

2 The following statement is one among many similar ones which have 
been made: "In executing this advance the right of the Cadets marched 
directly towards Kleiser's Battery, and from the beginning of the advance 
to the time we passed this battery there were no Confederate troops in 
front of us, and Kleiser's Battery did not cease firing and abandon their 
guns until we were within a few yards of them. In passing the battery I 
went between the guns." MS. letter of R. H. Cousins (C) to Henry A. 
Wise, May 12, 1909. Mr. Cousins says he talked with a number of men 
from Von Kleiser's Battery, and that they agreed in ascribing their defeat 
to the Cadets. 

152 



THE CADETS AND THE CANNON 1 53 

eral left, the Cadets were not there when they made their 
capture. Moreover, many have beheved that the Cadets cap- 
tured several guns or a battery. The problem, then, may be 
divided into two parts : first, how many cannon were taken 
by the Cadets; if only one, why have so many of them believed 
that they captured several? second, from what battery was 
the capture made? 

The taking- of a gun by the Cadets is established by very 
circumstantial testimcjny. Not only are there numerous state- 
ments by Cadets which declare that the guns of a battery were 
firing while they made their charge, but some assert that the 
guns were discharged up to the last moment, and that the gun- 
ners were driven ofif after hand to hand fighting. 

"The veterans made better time than we did, so that by 
the time we reached the battery the line was fairly rectified, 
though the men were all somewhat scattered, the stronger 
ones being in advance. As I passed between two of the guns 
one of them was fired for the last time. The artillerymen 
fought well, none could have done better. There were smooth 
faced boy Cadets and hardy veterans of many battles in at the 
death, all shaking hands, all happy, all muddy, and all tired." * 

"When we reached the edge of the wheat-field through 
which we charged the Federal battery, the said battery and a 
regiment of infantry, the 34th Massachusetts, were there, and 
there was nothing between us but the wheat about knee high. 
They stayed there until we were nearly on them with the 
bayonet. The infantry broke and retired, and the gunners of 
the battery fought us with their sponge-stafifs and hand-spikes, 
until compelled to give up the guns." * . . . 

^ MS. letter of B. A. Colonna (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 14, 190Q. 
♦MS. letter of Hugh W. Fry (C) to Henry A. Wi.se, May 23, 1909. 



154 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



"That they fought us gallantly is well known to me, for 
I saw their guns and fired at the gunners." "From this posi- 
tion the Corps arose, charged, captured the battery, and, press- 
ing on, drove their infantry from the cedar thicket. 
The troops on our left rendered splendid assistance in the cap- 
ture of the battery after they had rallied to our support, but if 
any other command took these guns it must have been some 
time later, for when we passed they mere too hot to handle." ° 

"The battery which we captured, was, as you and every 
one of the Corps knows, worked until we were almost on it." " 

This assertion that the Cadets took a battery or several 
guns is substantiated by other participants. 

"After lying a while the command was given to rise and 
charge, and it was in this charge, amidst a galling fire, that 
the four pieces of artillery were taken." ' . . . 

"Shortly after Shipp stepped to the rear of the Battalion, 
and gave order to fire, he was struck by what I believe was a 
spent ball, and then he gave the order, 'Rally on the 62d!' (I 
think it was the 62d.) Unless I am very much at fault, at 
that time the Cadets were well in advance of any portion of 
the Confederate line, and to have rallied on any body of troops 
not in line with us would have meant to retreat, and this would 
have meant defeat. I was only a few files from Evans, who 
carried the flag, and I distinctly recall that he waved the flag 
about him and said words to this efifect: 'Rally around this, 
boys!' You then, as Senior Captain, as I always thought, re- 
formed the line, and the charge was resumed, and was not 
discontinued until the battery had been captured, and, indeed;^ 

6 D. G. Mohler (C), MS. Recollections of the Battle of New Market. 
« MS. letter of J. J. A. Powell (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 17, 1909. 
' MS. letter of Lawrence Royster (C) to Henry A. Wise, June 12, 
1895. 



THE CADETS AND THE CANNON 1 55 

as I thought, until some Httle time after we passed the spot 
which the battery occupied." * 

"My recollection is very distinct, that the Cadets passed 
Wharton's Brigade, and had to lie down along the worm of 
an old fence on the level ground, and that at this time the 
Federal ranks were unbroken. I remember while in this posi- 
tion that the rattle of the musketry and roar of cannon made 
such a noise that I could hear nothing else, so I raised up to 
see what was going on, and a perfect sheet of lead bullets were 
whistling over my head. One of our officers called out to lie 
down, or I would get my head shot ofif. After a while we 
were ordered to rise and advance. It was then that the Fed- 
eral lines gave way, and we could see their blue backs in wav- 
ing lines retreat before us. While we were lying down and 
after we began advancing, the battery which we soon cap- 
tured was pouring grape and canister into us." ° . . . 

"After several unsuccessful attempts to dislodge that bat- 
tery . . . the Cadets were called upon to make a final 
charge, ivhich they did zvithout a break, and drove the Fed- 
erals from their guns and started them on a hurried retreat." ^" 

"We found ourselves just in front of a battery. . . . 
After a few moments we rose and charged, downing the bat- 
tery" " . . . 

"It may be that we did pass over some ground that the 
62d had traversed in the first formation of the line, as you 
know we were held in reserve just behind that line, for a short 
while, but when General Breckinridge found it necessary to 

8 MS letter of R. B. Tunstall (C) to Henry A. Wise, March 16, 1909. 
8 MS. letter of E. M. Tutwiler (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 29, 1909. 
1" MS. letter of C. M. Etheredge (C) to Henry A. Wise, April 30, 1909. 
'1 MS. letter of George W. Gretter (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 3, 
1909. 



156 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

lengthen his line, ... it took its place in the general en- 
gagement, and was certainly in front of the enemy receiving 
their fire ; and we drove them from their guns." ^^ 

"The Cadet Corps got up and charged, and captured some 
of the guns in their front. There were no troops at any time 
in front of the Cadets; except in the beginning of the fight." ^* 

*T do not remember to have seen any troops between us 
and the enemy, but we charged up and captured the battery." " 

In view of the abundance of this testimony it must be said 
that making all allowance for error in detail, unintentional ex- 
aggeration, and lapse of memory, it is evident that something 
occurred which made many of the Cadets believe that they had 
captured several guns. 

It is very probable, that the only place where a group of 
guns was captured was near the river bluffs on the extreme 
Federal right. Edgar asserts specifically that his men captured 
these cannon as a result of their successful movement around 
the Federal right flank. His statements are so positive and 
so well supported that they have been accepted in this volume, 
though it is probable that shortly after Edgar's triumph the 
men of the 51st Regiment took part in the fighting nearby 
in such a manner as to make them believe that they had cap- 
tured the guns themselves. Similarly it may be that the ex- 
planation of the assertions made by the Cadets that they 
captured a number of guns lies in the fact that they also 
along with the 51st Regiment had a part in driving the Fed- 
eral troops away from Sigel's extreme right. In the confu- 

12 MS. letter of W. H. Spiller (C) to Henry A. Wise. May 10, 1909. 

13 MS. letter of W. J. Harrison (C) to Henry A. Wise. May 26, 1909. 
1* MS. letter of Robert E. Waller (C) to Henry A. Wise, May 26. 

1909. 



THE CADETS AND THE CANNON 1 57 

sion and the melee they may have come directly up to the 
guns which the 26th Battalion had forced Carlin to abandon, 
and so thought that they solely were responsible for the cap- 
ture. This might well have taken place since their line of 
march brought them near to the place where Carlin and Snow 
had been stationed. 

Such a theory was advanced in 1908 by Colonel George H. 
Smith of the 62d Virginia, who believed that the Cadets might 
have captured guns on the Federal right after the gunners had 
been driven away by other Confederate commands which had 
passed over the ground previously. 

"The Cadet Corps and the right of the 51st Regiment were 
much cut up by the heavy fire to which they had been sub- 
jected. Neither of them formed on our left when we ad- 
vanced with Echols' Brigade, but they both promptly followed 
the movement ; and as the line of their march would pass over 
the position of the left of the enemy's artillery, it may be said 
they captured the guns left on the field by them. But this was 
after the enemy had been put to rout, and the 62d and 22d had 
passed beyond the position that had been occupied by them." ^' 

This hypothesis, which is incorrect in part,^' immediately 
called forth indignant protests from the Cadets who had taken 
part in the capture of the guns from Von Kleiser, and who 
could remember hand to hand fighting with artillerymen and 
the seizure of a smoking cannon. 

Nevertheless it is probable that this explanation is at least 
partly true. It is not true in the sense that the Cadets marched 
behind some other command, and so took no active part in the 

15 Confederate Veteran, XVI, 571. 

18 The Cadets certainly took part in the general forward movement 
of the Confederate line, of which they were a part, if they did not them- 
selves begin the charge. See above, p. 84. 



1^8 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

lighting. Their heavy losses would be sufficient to disprove 
this at once; and no doubt the statement was not so intended. 
It is probably true, however, in the sense that the guns of 
Carlin's Battery were abandoned before the Cadets got that 
far, because of the attack of Edgar and the 51st to their left, 
and of the 62d and 22d to their right. It seems, indeed, that 
these guns were not captured as a result of a charge upon 
them in action, or of a hand to hand conflict with the gunners, 
but because the position of the batteries had become untenable 
by reason of the advance of the whole Confederate line. In 
withdrawing, three of the guns had to be abandoned.^^ The 
capture of these guns, then, while due most directly to the 
26th Battalion, was made possible by the general advance of 
the Confederate line. 

If recourse be had to contemporary accounts the difficulty 
increases, for there is no story of the Cadets capturing can- 
non. In a letter written almost immediately after the battle 
Captain Frank Preston says: 

"The enemy's battery, at a distance of 150 yards, poured 
incessant volleys of canister and grape into us. We still fired, 
however, and soon the fire became too hot for the Yankee 
gunners and infantry. The battery limbered up and moved 
off, and the line of infantry began to retreat. Then, almost at 
the same time, Wise and myself (I am telling only what I 
saw), rose up and called to the Cadets to push on, and the 
color-bearer advanced to the front with the colors, almost the 

^^ "I therefore reluctantly gave orders to Captain Carlin ... to 
withdraw his pieces ... As some of the horses of two pieces had 
been killed, the guns were abandoned . . . During the retreat, and 
while the artillery were crossing a creek, another piece had to be aban- 
doned, the horses being unable to bring it along." Sigel, "Sigel in the 
Shenandoah Valley," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 489, 490. 



a3a;<i; ! 

mvr ,aj5[t'i p.irri' 

. IVIJl H/ 
aSHH i 

al/ l/K U/l '. .'1 A I V/ 



a;!iL 



THE WHEAT-FIELD BETWEEN THE BUSIlbNG 
ORCHARD AND THE SECOND OR PRINCIPAL LINE ON 
BUSHONG's HILL. THE FEDERAL LINE EXTENDED 
FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THIS FIELD, THE 
RIGHT WING RESTING ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF 
LEADING DOWN TQ T^E^SHENANPQAJI RIVER. IN 
THp IPJiCJURE .THIS CLIFF IS MARKED BY THE TREES 
IN THE BACKGROUND. THE BATTERIES OF CAR- 
LlisT ' Mb SNbA/t^" ^VERE POSTED" NEAR TH^ TttllEfe 
SMALI^ TREES ,STANDI]SfG XpART. THE CONFED- 
erate line extended from east to west along 
a fence running parallel with, and imme- 
diately in rear of the bottom line of the 
picture! 



THE CADETS AND THE CANNON 1 59 

whole battalion rushing forward, and though the company- 
organizations were gone, yet they rallied round the colors and 
formed some sort of a line, as we advanced. As we pursued 
the 34th Massachusetts, we saw the 12th Virginia (Yankees) 
in the cedars, on the right, pressing hard upon the 62d and 
Derrick's Battalion. I ran to the color-bearer and called his 
attention to it, and we started down on the right flank of this 
regiment, forming as we went. We had not gone far, nor 
fired much, before the regiment broke and ran. Then every- 
thing was forgotten but the excitement of pursuit. We ran 
after them in not much better order, but in far better spirits, 
firing as we ran. The Cadets captured from 60 to 100 pris- 
oners. One of my company, Faulkner, took 23 to the rear. 
We pursued the enemy about half a mile" ^* . . . 

The official report made by Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, 
in command of the Corps', July 4, 1864, is equally silent as to 
this afifair. "Our line took a position behind a line of fence. 
A brisk fusillade ensued; a shout, a rush, and the day was 
won. The enemy fled in confusion, leaving killed, wounded, 
artillery, and prisoners in our hands. Our men pursued in 
hot haste until it became necessary to halt, draw ammunition, 
and re-establish the lines for the purpose of driving them from 
their last position on Rude's Hill, which they held with cav- 
alry and artillery to cover the passage of the river, about a 
mile in their rear. Our troops charged and took the position 
without loss. The enemy withdrew, crossed the river, and 
burnt the bridge." ^' 

Recently some of the Cadets, after careful comparison of 

1^ Letter of Captain Frank Preston, May, 19, 1864, in Lexington 
Gazette, May 25, 1864. 

19 War Records, ser. i. vol. XXXVII. part I, 91. 



l6o THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

what they recollect, have come to the conclusion that they did 
not charge a battery firing into them.^° 

Because of the silence of the contemporary accounts it is 
not possible to draw from the conflicting evidence and various 
statements conclusions which can be regarded as undoubtedly 
correct. Nevertheless it is probable that the explanation is 
approximately as follows : 

1. The line of the Cadets extended some distance. Some 
took part in what others did not do and of which they did not 
at the time know. Hence the different accounts which have 
been written by Cadets. 

2. As a direct result of their charge and as a result of 
hand to hand fighting some of the Cadets captured one can- 
non, from the battery of Von Kleiser. The capture of a can- 
non as a result of their charge is made certain by detailed state- 
ments made by some of the Cadets, and also by the account 
of Captain Town, a Federal officer who witnessed it. That 
the cannon was taken from Von Kleiser's Battery is estab- 
lished by the accounts of the Cadets, by the assertion of Cap- 
tain Town, and by an almost uncontradicted tradition. It is 
substantiated by the fact that Von Kleiser lost a gun because 
of the general charge in which the Cadets took part. Finally, 
while Von Kleiser's Battery was stationed by Sigel at the left 
end of the infantry line when the afternoon combat began, yet 
it was forced to withdraw almost immediately when the first 
line of the Federal army was routed. What disposition Sigel 
then made he does not say, but Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln of 
the 34th Massachusetts Regiment describing the organization 
of the second Federal line says that Von Kleiser's Battery was 
on an eminence in the center, a little advanced. The line of 

20 Statements to the author. 



THE CADETS AND THE CANNON l6l 

their march would have brought the Cadets directly to this 
position, 

3. Most of Von Kleiser's guns were limbering up when 
the charge began, and so escaped. As the Cadets pursued 
some of them reached the place where Carlin's and Snow's 
Batteries had been posted, and from which they had been 
driven by the 26th Battalion. Here the Cadets came across 
the three guns which Carlin had beeen forced to leave behind. 

4. In after times accounts of these several episodes were 
blended together into one story, and so took the impossible 
form that the Cadets had captured a battery or several guns 
from Von Kleiser's Battery. 

A statement made by Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp is in some 
respects very near the truth. "The whole line advanced, de- 
feating your column of attack, and the victory was won. You 
abandoned five guns. ... I claim, and it is generally ad- 
mitted, that the Cadets led in the charge which defeated your 
column of attack, and in this sense they may be said to have 
taken the battery, for the capture of the battery was the result 
of the defeat of the column." " 

21 MS. letter to A. P. Young, April 28, 1873, 



APPENDIX I. 

From the Diary of a Federal Soldier. 

•'ly /f AY 15, 1864. In camp. One mile north of Woodstock, 
It J. Va. Get up before day, prepare to march. Start 
south at 6 A. M. March slowly till noon, then as heavy can- 
nonading was heard at front, went faster. Arrived at Mount 
Jackson about 2 P. M. Start fires to make coffee, long roll 
sounds, fall in and start for the front. Arrive there and take 
part in the ball at 3 P. M. Engagement very hot. Stood our 
ground till all other regiments and batteries had left. Then 
as we were being outflanked, left in disorder. Made several 
stands on the way back to the Shenandoah bridge which we 
crossed over and burned about dark. Company D lost 3 killed 
and 10 wounded. Regiment lost 32 killed, loi wounded, 
missing 41 ; total, 174. After dark start north. March all 
night and arrive at Woodstock a little after daylight on the 
i6th. Weather wet. Rain all day the 15th. Roads muddy. 
Everyone tired, wet, and hungry." ^ 

1 MS. Diary of George W. Gazeby (Second Lieutenant, Company D, 
54th Pennsylvania Regiment). In possession of the writer. New Castle, 
Pennsylvania. 



162 



APPENDIX J. 
Roster of the Cadet Battalion. 

FOR a generation after the contest at New Market it was 
impossible to ascertain the names of all the Cadets who 
were present on the battle-field, owing to the destruction of the 
official records upon which a list should have been based. Ac- 
cordingly the various rosters which were printed from time to 
time were confessedly inaccurate and incomplete. 

About 1903, when plans were being made to erect at Lex- 
ington a monument to the "New Market Corps of Cadets," the 
question arose as to what names should be inscribed upon the 
pedestal. Searching investigations were then undertaken by a 
committee of the alumni of the Virginia Military Institute act- 
ing jointly with the superintendent. After some consideration 
it was decided that the list to be drawn up should contain the 
names of all the Cadets who were on roll at the Institute on 
May II, the day upon which the march to New Market began. 
This would, to be sure, include the names of a few who were 
left behind on guard duty at the Institute, but it was felt that 
they had been subjected to an unavoidable hardship by the 
orders of their superiors, and that under the circumstances 
standing guard at Lexington entitled them to share the honors 
which had been won by their comrades on the battlefield. 
After arduous and difficult toil the list was completed, and may 
now be regarded as the final and official roster of the New 
Market Battalion of Cadets. 

The total number thus ascertained is 295, including field 
and staff and artillery detachment and musicians. Deducting 

163 



1 64 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



the three musicians, two of the staff on guard duty in the rear, 
nine Cadets at the Institute, one away on furlough, and one 
absent on surgeon's certificate, there remain 279, which num- 
ber may be taken as approximately the fighting strength of the 
Battalion/ Of these, thirty, with the artillery, were separted 
from the main body, so that 249, at the highest, was probably 
the force which fought under Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp.^ 

ROSTER OF THE CADET BATTALION, MAY 11, 1864. 

FIELD AND STAFF. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, Cojnmanding. 

Colonel R. L. Madison, Surgeon. 

Captain George Ross, Assistant-Surgeon. 

Captain J. C. Whitwell, Commissary and Quarter-Master. 

Cadet Lieutenant Cary Weston, Adjutant. 

Cadet Lieutenant J. W. Wyatt, Quarter-Master. 

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. 

Cadet Sergeant J. E. Woodbridge, Sergeant-Major. 

Cadet Sergeant O. P. Evans, Color-Bearer. 

Cadet Sergeant G. A. Davenport, Quarter-Master Sergeant. 

MUSICIANS. 

J. H. Croc KEN, Fife. 

Richard Staples, Kettle Drum. 

Jacob Marks, Bass Drum. 

^ For this information, as well as for the following lists, I am in- 
debted to Mr. Joseph R. Anderson, Historiographer of the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute. 

2 It has usually been said that the total number of Cadets at New 
Market was about 250. Some writers have put it as low as 220. 



THE RUINED BARRACKS OF THE VIRGINIA MILI- 
TARY INSTITUTE^ BURNED ^Y MAJOR-GENERAL 
DAVID HUNTER, JUNE 12, 1864. 



THE CADET BATTALION 



165 



Company A. 
Henry A. Wise, Senior Tactical Officer and Captain Commanding. 
C. H. Minge, Cadet Captain. 
W. C. Hardy, Cadet First Lieutenant. 
W. A. Morson, Cadet Second Lieutenant, 
E. M. Ross, Cadet First Sergeant. 
W. B. Shaw, Cadet Second Sergeant. 
W. T. Duncan, Cadet Third Sergeant. 
J. T. Douglas, Cadet Fourth Sergeant. 
Hunter Wood, Cadet Fifth Sergeant. 
Lawrence Royster, Cadet First Corporal. 
G. K. Macon, Cadet Second Corporal. 
R. L. Brockenbrough, Cadet Third Corporal. 
S. F. Atwill, Cadet Fourth Corporal, 



Privates. 



Adams, R. A., 
Allen, Donald, 
Anderson, C. J., 
Ashley, C. G., 
Bagnall, J. S., 
Binford, R. J., 
Bowen, H. C, 
Buster, W. D., 
Butler, W. H., 
Carmichael, John, 
Cocke, P. St. G., 
Corling, C. T., 
Cousins, R. H., 
Davis, J. A., 
Garrett, H. W., 
Goodykoontz, A. E., 
Harrison, C. H., 
Hayes, W. C, 
Hiden, P. B., 
Hill, J. M., 
Howard, J. C, 
Hubard, W. J., 
James, F. W., 
Larrick, J. S., 
Lewis, W. L., 
McVeigh, Newton, 



Mallory, E. S., 
Mead, H. J., 
Mohler, D. G., 
Morgan, P. H., 
Page, F. W., 
Payne, A. S., 
Pendleton, R. A., 
Raum, G. E., 
Seaborn. G. A., 
Skaggs, S. B., 
Smith, E. H., 
Smith, Jr., F. L., 
Spiller, George, 
Spiller, W. H., 
Temple, P. C, 
Thomson, A. P., 
Watson, W. P., 
White, T. W., 
White, W. H., 
Wimbish, L. W., 
Wingfield, S. G., 
Wood, H. T., 
Wood, P. S., 
Wood, W. M., 
Woodruff, Z. T., 
Yarbrough, W. T. 



i66 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



Company B. 
Frank Preston, Tactical Officer and Captain Commanding. 
Carlton Shafer, Cadet Captain. 
G. W. Gretter, Cadet First Lieutenant. 
Levi Welch, Cadet Second Lieutenant. 

A. Pizzini, Jr., Cadet First Sergeant. 

H. W. Garrow, Cadet Third * Sergeant. 
W. M. Patton, Cadet Fourth Sergeant. 
T. G. Hayes, Cadet First Corporal. 
J. B. Jarratt, Cadet Second Corporal. 
Patrick Henry, Cadet Third Corporal. 

B. W. Barton, Cadet Fourth Corporal. 



Privates. 



Bayard, N. J., 
Bennett, W. G., 
Bowen, W. B., 
Bransford, J. F., 
Cabell, R. G., 
Carmichael, W. S., 
Christian, E. D., 
Clarkson, J. H., 
Cocke, J. L., 
Cocke, W. R. C, 
Crank, J. T., 
Cullen, Simon, 
Darden, J. D., 
Dillard, J. L., 
Faulkner, C. J., 
Garrett, V. F., 
Gibson, F. G., 
Grasty, W. C, 
Hankins, M. O.. 
Happer, R. W. B.. 
Harris, W. O., 
Hartsfield, A. C, 
Hawks, A. W., 



Haynes, L. C, 
Hundley, C. B., 
Hupp. R. C, 
Jefferson, T. G., 
Johnson, Porter, 
Jones, T. W., 
Kemp, Wyndham, 
Lee, G. T., 
Leftwich, A. H., 
Lewis, N. C, 
McCorkle, J. W., 
McDowell, W. H., 
Mason, S. B., 
Patton, J. R., 
Penn, J. G., 
Perry, W. E. S., 
Phillips, S. T.. 
Powell, J. J. A., 
Preston, J. B., 
Preston, T. W., 
Redwood, W. F., 
Richeson, J. D., 
Roane, John, 



* The Second Sergeant of this company was O. P. Evans, who was 
the Color-Bearer at New Market in place of Color-Sergeant W. B. Shaw, 
absent on surgeon's certificate. 



THE CADET BATTALION 



167 



Stacker, Clay, 
Stanard, J. B., 
Tabb, John, 
Tackett, J. R, 
Tardy, A. H., 
Taylor, J. E., 
Tunstall, R. B., 
Turner, E. L., 



Veitch, Wilberforce, 
Walker, C P., 
Washington, Lloyd, 
Wesson, C. M., 
Wharton, J. E., 
White, J. S., 
Whitehead, H. C, 
Wilson, R. G., 



Woodlief, P. W. 



Company C. 
A. Govan Hill, Tactical Officer and Captain Commanding, 
S. S. Shriver, Cadet Captain. 
T. D. Davis, Cadet First Lieutenant. 
A. Boggess, Cadet Second Lieutenant. 
J. A. Stuart, Cadet First Sergeant. 
L. C. Wise, Cadet Second Sergeant. 
A. F. Redd, Cadet Third Sergeant. 
W. B. Martin, Cadet Fourth Sergeant. 
H. H. Dinwiddie, Cadet First Corporal. 
J. E. Wood, Cadet Second Corporal. 
J. G. James, Cadet Third Corporal. 
R. Ridley, Cadet Fourth Corporal. 



Privates. 



Adams, S. B., 
Blankman, J. S., 
Blundon, R. M., 
Booth, S. W., 
Buffington, E. S., 
Chalmers, W. M., 
Crawford, W. B., 
Crichton, J. A., 
Davis, A. J., 
Davis, L. S., 
Dunn, J. R., 
Early J. C, 
Ezekiel, M. J., 
Fry, H. W., 
Fulton, C. M., 
Goode, H. L., 



Goodwin, J. H., 
Harrison, W. L., 
Jones, W. S., 
Lamb, W. K., 
Langhorne, M, D., 
Lee, R. F., 
McGavock, J. W., 
Martin, T. S., 
Maury, Reuben, 
Merritt, J. L., 
Minor, J. H., 
Mitchell, S. T., 
Morson, A. A., 
Morson, J. B., 
Noland, N. B., 
Overton, A. W., 



1 58 'mE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Page, P. N., Tate, C. B., 

Pendleton, W. W., Taylor, B. D., 

Price, F. B., Taylor, Carrington, 

Randolph, C. C, Taylor, W. C, 

Read, C. H., Thompson, K., 

Ricketts, L. C, Tomes, F. J., 

Roller, P. W., Toms, A. C, 

Rose, G. M., Turner, C. W., 

Rutherfoord, T. M., Upshur, J. N., 

Shields, J. H., Walker, C. D., 

Shriver, T. H., Waller, R. E., 

Slaughter, W. L., Walton, N. T., 

Smith, C. H., Wheelwright. J. C, 

Smith, W. T., Wilson, D. C. B. 

Company D. 
Thomas B. Robinson, Tactical Officer and Captain Commanding. 

B. A. Colonna, Cadet Captain, 

J. F. Hanna, Cadet First Lieutenant. 
F. W. Claybrook, Cadet Second Lieutenant, 
W. H. Cabell, Cadet First Sergeant. 
William Nelson, Cadet Second Sergeant. 
J. R. Echols, Cadet Third Sergeant. 

C. M. Etheredge, Cadet Fourth Sergeant. 
O. A. Glazebrook, Cadet First Corporal. 
Alfred Marshall, Cadet Second Corporal. 
John S. Wise, Cadet Third Corporal. 

J. R. Triplett, Cadet Fourth Corporal. 

Privates. 

Akers, R. C, Coleman, J. J., 

Alexander, W. K., Corbin, J. P., 

Arbuckle, A. A., Crenshaw, S. D., 

Barney, W. H., Crews, B. S., 

Baylor, J. B., Crockett, C. G., 

Beattie, W. F., Crockett, H. S., 

Berkeley, Edmund, Dickinson, J. I., 

Brown, J. A., Dillard, William, 

Clark, G. B., Eubank. W. M., 

Clendinen, T. R., Garnett. G. T., 

Cocke, Preston, Gray, J. B., 



THE CADET BATTALION 



169 



Hamlin, E. L., 
Hannah, J. S., 
Harvie, J. B., 
Harvie, J. S., 
Horsley, John, 
Imboden, J. P., 
Johnson, F. S., 
Jones, H. J., 
Kennedy, W. H., 
King, D. P., 
Kirk, W. M., 
Knight, E. C, 
Lee, F. T., 
Letcher, S. H., 
Locke, R. N., 
Lowry, T. S., 
Lumsden, W. J., 
McClung, T. W., 
Marks, C. H., 



Marshall, Martin, 
Moorman, E. S., 
Nalle, G. B. W., 
Phelps, T. K, 
Peirce, D. S., 
Radford, W. N., 
Reid, J. J., 
Reveley, G. F., 
Sowers, J. F., 
Stuart, Jr., A. H. H. 
Tunstall, J. L., 
Tutwiler, E. M., 
Venable, W. L., 
Ward, G. W., 
Webb, J. S., 
Wellford. C. E., 
White, R. J., 
Witt, J. E.. 
Wood, M. B. 



CASUALTIES. 



Killed. 

H. Cabell, Va., 2d Class, ist Sergeant, D Company. 

F. Atwill, Va., 3d Class, Corporal, A Company. 

G. Crockett, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company, 
G. Jefferson, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
J. Jones, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 

H. McDowell, N. C, 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
B. Stanard, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 



Mortally Wounded. 
* Cadet L. C. Haynes, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 

Wounded. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, Commanding Battalion of Cadets. 
Captain A. G. Hill, Tactical Officer, Commanding C Company. 



* Died of wounds one month after the battle. 



170 



Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 
Cade 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

S. S. Shriver, Va., ist Class, Cadet Captain, C Company. 

Andrew Pizzini, Jr., Va., 2d Class, ist Sergeant, B Company. 

J. A. Stuart, Va., 2d Class, ist Sergeant, C Company. 

L. C. Wise, Va., 2d Class, Sergeant, C Company. 

H. W. Garrow, Ala., 2d Class, Sergeant, B Company. 

G. K. Macon, Va., 3d Class, Corporal, A Company. 

J. R. Triplett, Va., 3d Class, Corporal, D Company. 

J. S. Wise, Va., 3d Class, Corporal, D Company. 

Edmund Berkeley, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 

J. F. Bransford, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 

W. D. Buster, Va., 3d Class, Private, A Company. 

E. D. Christian, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
Preston Cocke, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company, 
C. T. Corling, Va., 4th Class, Private, A Company. 

J. D. Darden, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
J. I. Dickinson, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 
William Dillard, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 
G. T. Garnett, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 

F. G. Gibson, W. Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
J. H. Goodwin, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
W. O. Harris, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 

C. H. Harrison, Va., 4th Class, Private, A Company. 
A. C. Hartsfield, N. C, 3d Class, Private, B Company. 
J. C. Howard, Va., 4th Class, Private, A Company. 

J. P. Imboden, Va., 4th Qass, Private, D Company. 
Porter Johnson, W. Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 
W. S. Jones, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
Martin Marshall, Miss., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 
H. J. Mead, Va., 3d Class, Private, A Company. 
J. L. Merritt, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
E. S. Moorman, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 
R. A. Pendleton, Va., 4th Class, Private, A Company. 
S. T. Phillips, Va., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 

D. S. Peirce, Va., 3d Qass, Private, D Company. 

C. C. Randolph, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
C. H. Read, Jr., Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
C. H. Smith, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 

E. H. Smith, Va., 4th Class, Private, A Company. 

F. L. Smith, Jr., Va., 4th Qass, Private, A Company. 
George Spiller, Va., 3d Class, Private, A Company. 

J. N. Upshur, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 



THE CADET BATTALION 171 

Cadet C. D. Walker, Va., 4th Class, Private, C Company. 
Cadet W. P. Watson, N. C, 4th Class, Private, A Company. 
Cadet T. W. White, Va., 4th Class, Private, D Company. 
Cadet H. C. Whitehead, Va., 3d Class, Private, B Company. 
Cadet P. W. Woodlief, Jr., La., 4th Class, Private, B Company. 



Recapitulation. 

Killed, 8 

Mortally wounded, i 

Wounded, 48 

57 

Estimated strength of Battalion at New Market, 279 

Loss in battle, 57 

Percentage of loss, 20% 



ABBREVIATIONS. 



A. — Author (Edward Raymond Turner). 
C. — Cadet of the Virginia MiHtary Institute. 
Ca. — Colonna, Benjamin A. 
E. — Edgar, Lieutenant-Colonel George M. 
W. — Wise, Henry A. 



i;-! 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



Contemporary Accounts. 

The following accounts are more authoritative than any 
others used in the composition of this work, since they follow 
most closely after the events which they describe. Moreover 
the official reports were written in most cases by those most 
qualified to speak. The principal defect is absence of informa- 
tion about details, and, indeed, completq silence on many 
points essential to an understanding of the battle. Further- 
more the official reports represent almost entirely one side, the 
Federal, and are defective because written too soon. The 
newspaper accounts must have been based partly upon hearsay 
and rumor, and so are no better than newspaper descriptions 
usually are. Accordingly it has been constantly necessary to 
supplement this contemporary information by later writings, 
farther removed from the facts related, but more carefully 
recollected and thought out. 

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of 
the Union and Confederate Armies. Published under the Direction of the 
Hon. RedHeld Proctor, Secretary of War, by Major George B. Davis, U. 
S. A., Mr. Leslie J. Perry, Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley, Board of Publication. 
70 vols, in 128 (found also in House Miscellaneous Documents, 52-56 Con- 
gress), Washington, 1880-1891. (Abbreviated: War Records.) 



172, 



174 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



Series I, vol. XXXIII, contains dispatches relative to preparations 
which culminated in the battle of New Market. 

Series I, vol. XXXVII, part I, contains the matter relating to the bat- 
tle of New Market, and particularly the official reports : 

Report of Colonel Jacob M. Campbell, 54th Pennsylvania Infantry, May 
18, 1864, pp. 86-87. 

Report of Colonel Augustus Moor, 28th Ohio Infantry, May 21, 1864, 
pp. 79-81. 

Report of Major Henry Peale, i8th Connecticut Infantry, May 21, 
1864, pp. 81-83. 

Report of Colonel George D. Wells, 34th Massachusetts Infantry, May 
21, 1864, pp. 82-86. 

Unfortunately this collection contains but one report from 
the Confederate side : 

Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, Cadet Corps, July 4, 1864, 
pp. 89-91. 

There are brief communications from Sigel, p. 76, and from 
Breckinridge, p. 87, but no extended reports. 

A number of accounts written shortly after the battle have 
been preserved in private collections. 

MS. Draft of a Report of the Battle of New Market written by Colonel 
J. Stoddard Johnston for General Breckinridge, "shortly after the battle." 
(The only comprehensive report relating to the battle. Colonel Johnston 
was General Breckinridge's Chief of Staff.) — In possession of Henry A. 
Wise, Baltimore, Maryland. 

MS. Report of Lieutenant-Colonel George M. Edgar, 26th Virginia 
Battalion, August 8, 1864. (One of the two official reports submitted by 
Confederate commanders in this battle.) — In possession of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Edgar, Paris, Kentucky. 

MS. letter of Brigadier-General John Echols to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Scott Shipp, Rude's Hill, May 16, 1864. (Compliments Cadets.) — Copy. 
— W. 

MS. letter of G. A. De Russy, A. A. G., to Lieutenant-'Colonel Edgar, 
May 17, 1864. (Brigadier-General Wharton's thanks to Edgar.) — Edgar. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY j^r 

MS. letter of Micajah Woods (First Lieutenant. Jackson's Battery), to 
his father, Mount Jackson, May i6, 1864.-J. R. Anderson, Lee, Va. 

A number of the Virginia newspapers give accounts of tlie 
battle. 

Daily Richmond Enquirer, May 17, 18, 19, 1864. 

Daily Richmond Examiner, May 17, 19, 20, 1864. 

(Richmond) Daily Dispatch, May 17, 19, 20, 21, 1864. ("The Lex- 
ington Cadets bore an important part in the contest." May 17, 1864.) 

(Richmond) Sentinel, May 16, 20 (important detailed account which 
does not mention part played by Cadets), 21 (compliments Cadets), 25 
(says 62d Virgmia Regiment captured battery), 1864. 

Staunton Spectator, May 17, 1864 (quoted in (Richmond) Daily Dis^ 
patch, May 20, 1864.) 

Richmond Whig, May 17, 18. 20, 23, 1864. (Comments on splendid and 
efficient conduct of Cadets.) 

Lexington Gazette, May 25, 1864. (Contains letter by Captain Frank 
Preston, Company B, V. M. L Corps, from New Market, May 19 1864 
to a member of his family in Lexington, Va. One of the most important 
narratives of the part taken by the Cadets.)— Copy.— W. 

(Richmond) Dispatch, May 24, 1864. (Report* of the proceedings of 
the Confederate House of Representatives, May 23, 1864.) 

(Richmond) Dispatch, May 28, 1864, "The Leicington Cadets. Pre- 
sentation of a Flag." 

Journal of the Confederate House of Representatives, first session 
second Congress, May 23, 1864.— War Department, Washington. 

II. 

Accounts Not Contemporary Written by Officers 
Commanding and Others. 

The following accounts, which were written some years 
after the battle, are less valuable in proportion to the lapse of 
tmie. ^ For the most part, however, they were composed by 
eye-witnesses, and in some cases by commanders, who took a 
leading part in the struggle, and were thus best qualified to 



176 



THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 



speak. They are inferior to the sources given in Section I, 
because of the blurring and effacement of things to be remem- 
bered, but are superior in wealth of detail and carefulness of 
construction. They represent the first serious efforts to write 
comprehensive descriptions of the battle. 

Echols, John, Brigadier-General, Address on the Life and Character 
cf General John C. Breckinridge, May 15, 1877, New Market, Va. (Eulo- 
gistic.) — W. 

Edgar, George M., Lieutenant-Colonel, MS. Notes of Comment on the 
Battle of New Market, Montgomery, Ala., 191 1, Paris, Ky., 191 1, 1912. — In 
possession of author. 

Edgar, MS. Critical Notes of Comment on the Battle of New Market, 
Montgomery, Ala., 191 1. — Author. 

(Colonel Edgar's Notes were written in criticism of an earlier draft of 
this book. They were always very stimulating and usually very helpful. 
I have not been able to adopt all of the writer's contentions, and am under 
the impression that he tends, although not consciously, to overrate the 
importance of the part taken in the battle by the 26th Battalion. The 
Critical Notes were accompanied by statements written by officers and 
men of the command : 

Major Richard Woodrum, 

Captain E. S. Read, Company B, 

Lieutenant G. W. Hines, Company B, 

Private W. W. Jones, Company B, 

Captain James H. Peck, Company C, 

Captain F. C. Burdette, Company D, 

Lieutenant J. W. McDowell, Company D, 

Lieutenant Thomas H. Kirkpatrick. Company E, 

Captain T. C. Morton, Company F, 

Lieutenant W. W. George, Company F, 

Captain John O. Carr, Company L) 
Grant, U. S., Personal Memoirs of, 2 vols., New York, 1885. 
Imboden, John D., Brigadier-General, "The Battle of New Market, 
Va., May 15, 1864," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, New York, 
1888. IV, 480-486. (Of value only for what Imboden himself saw. It 
contains numerous errors, and has several statements, based merely on 
hearsay and incorrect information, which have gained wide currency. The 
map, p. 482, is practically worthless.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY j^- 

Imboden, John D., M'S. letter to W., Damascus, Va., June 6, 1895.— W 

Johnston, J. Stoddard, Colonel, MS. The Battle of New Market.' 
(Written by one who was well informed.)— W. 

Johnston, J. Stoddard, "Sketches of Operations of General John C 
Breckmndge by Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston of his Staff," Southern His- 
torical Society Papers, VII, 257-262. 

Keyes, C. M., The Military History of the 133d Regiment Ohio Vol- 
unteer Infantry. Edited by C. M. Keyes, First Lieutenant 123d Regiment, 
O. V. I., Sandusky, 1874. (Account of the battle of New Market not very 
detailed and not very accurate.) 

Lincoln, W. S., Life with the Thirty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry 
tn the War of the Rebellion. William S. Lincoln, Late Colonel of the 
Regiment. Worcester, 1879. (Entertaining and excellent. Contains the 
author's military diary.) 

Rawling, C. J., History of the First Regiment Virginia Infantry etc 
Philadelphia, 1887. (ist West Virginia.) 

Sigel, Franz, Major-General, "Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley in 
1864," Battles and teadcrs of the Civil War, IV, 487-491. (Excuses his 
failure, but clear and well written. Much importance is to be attached to 
Sigel's statements, but undoubtedly his account contains a number of 
errors.) 

Smith, George H., Colonel, MS. Critical Notes on the Battle of New 
Market, Los Angeles, 191 1. (In criticism of an earlier draft of this work 
In the course of his long study of the subject the writer has frequently 
been mistaken, but he has always been willing to correct errors when they 
have been pointed out, and his labors have invariably led to a better un- 
derstanding of the subject.)— A. 

Walker, William C, History of the Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut 
Volunteers m the War for the Union. By Chaplain Wm C Walker 
Norwich, Conn., 1885. (At New Market.) 

III. 

Relations Concerning Parts of the Battle, for the 
Most Part by Officers and Men Participating. 

The sources cited in this section are marred by the defects 
characteristic of those just mentioned. Some of the accounts 
are contemporary, but most of them were written long after 
the battle, some quite recently. With these limitations^ how- 



g THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

ever they are excellent, since, being detailed descriptions of 
part's of the battle, they afford information otherwise not 
obtainable. 

Anderson, Joseph R., MS. letter to W., Lee, Va., March 25^i909.-W. 
Anderson, Joseph R., The V. M. I.-Uer Past. Pubhshed by the Vir- 

''^'^^^'iJ::^:'-^o.^^ with the B0.S," (Baltimore) 
S^u. Ti, X903. (Describes advance of part of Confederate art.Ue^y.) 

Bocock, Theodore S., MS. letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shtpp, 
House of Representatives (Confederate), May 25^ ^^^^--Copy, W. 

Bocock, Theodore S., MS letter to the same, May ^6- 864-Copy W^ 

Bralley, Guy S. (Company B, 51st Virgmia Regiment), MS. letter to 
C. B. Tate, Glade Springs, Va., Jan. 28, ign.-Ca 

Bryan David R., (Company A, 54th Pennsylvama Regiment), MS. 
letter to B A. Colonna, Johnstown, Pa., March 8, igii.-L^^. 

Chrke; J. Lyle, Colonel (30th Virginia Battalion), MS. letter to W.. 

Baltimore. March 25, iSgS-— W. . . -n • .^ M«; The 

Dunford, G. W. (Company B, 51st Virgmia Regiment) MS. The 

Battle of New Market. (Speaks of wavering m the 51st). -^^a 

Du Pont, H. A., Captain, MS. letter to E., Winterthur, Del, Oct. i. 

TonS fBest source for movements of Du Pont s Battery.)-^. 
"^Edgrr George M., Lieutenant-Colonel, MS. letter to W., University 

of Alabama, Feb. 18, 1896.— W. •„, tt,, Feb o 

Edgar, George M., MS. letter to same, Hopkinsville, Ky., Feb. 9. 

'^'Vd^ar, George M.. MS. letter to J. R. Anderson. Tuscaloosa, Ala., 

^^in^^^e M., MS. letter to W. Paris, Ky., Oct. a8 .,..-W 
Edgar, George M., MS. letter to A., Montgomery, Ala.. March 7. 

''"E'dgar, George M.. MS. letter to A., Paris, Ky.. Nov. 16, I9n.-A. 

Edgar George M.. MS. letter to A., Pans. Ky.. Dec. 26. ^^n.-A. 

(The Correspondence of Colonel Edgar relates largely to the vvork of 
the 26th Battalion, which he commanded. His statements are so wel forU- 
fied, and so intrinsically probable, that I have accepted them as the ch e 
sou;ce in describing this part of the battle. I have not been able to accept 
entirely his statements about what went on in other ^^^'^1 LnCt 
His assistance has heen of the f^rst importance, however, and this book is 
materially better because of his co-operation.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY jyg 

Forsberg, Colonel (51st Virginia Regiment), MS. Memoranda. (On 
day of battle, ill in hospital in Lynchburg. Wrote shortly after. Knew 
common rumor, no doubt.)— In possession of Miss Hilda L. Forsberg, 
Lynchburg, Va. 

Gazeby, George W., Lieutenant (Company D, 54th Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment), MS. letter to Ca., New Castle, Pa., May 27, 1911. (Graphic de- 
scription of retreat and pursuit.)— Ca. 

Gilbert, A. J. (Company B, 123d Ohio Regiment), MS. letter to Ca., 
Mansfield, Ohio, Dec. 12, 1910. — Ca. 

Gilbert, A. J., to Ca., Dec. 21, 1910.— Ca. 

Holt, Charles A., MS. letter to Captain T. C. Morton, Staunton Va , 
Feb. 10, 1896.— W. 

Humphreys, C. W., "Battle of New Market. Its History and Its Vast 
Importance . . . Errors of History Writers Corrected." (Richmond) 
Times-Dispatch, Oct. 8, 15, 1905. (One of the ablest accounts yet written, 
though it is chiefly valuable in connection with the part of the 26th Bat- 
talion, in which the author served, and the achievements of which he 
probably overrates. In other respects the story is marred by a tendency 
to base conclusions upon opinion and insufficient evidence.) 

Humphreys, C. W., "Rev. Dr. Humphreys Replies to Criticism. Re- 
joinder to Capt. D. H. Bruce on the Battle of New Market." Confed- 
erate Veteran, XVI, 572-573 (November, 1908.) 

Humphreys, C. W., MS. letter to W., Milton, Fla., Feb. 20, i9ii._W. 
Humphreys, C. W., MS. letter to A., Milton, Fla.. March 6, 191 1.— A. 
(I have been unable to accept all of the conclusions of Dr. Hum- 
phreys, some of which I do not consider to be based upon sufficient evi- 
dence. I have been fortunate, however, in having the writer's criticism 
and co-operation, which have always been suggestive and helpful.) 

Im'boden, John D., Brigadier-General, MS. letter to Colonel A. Fulke- 
nen, Abingdon. Va., June 21, 1889.— W. 

Johnston, J. Stoddard, Adjutant-General, MS. letter to W., Louisville, 
Ky., April 21, 1895.— W. 

Jones, James L., (Snow's Battery), MS. letter to Ca., Rowland Mills, 
Md., Dec. 4, 1910.— Ca. 

Klingaman. J. F.. MS. Diary. (Relates incidents just before the 
battle.)— In possession of J. F. Klingaman. Waterloo, Iowa. 

Lang, Theodore F., Major, MS. Personal Recollections of the Bat- 
tle of New Market, ... by a member of General Sigel's Staff No 
date.— W. 

Lincoln, William S., (34th Mass. Regiment), "A Letter from General 
Lincoln on the Battle of New Market." (Richmond) State, April 4. 1888. 
(Describes the charge of the Cadets.)— Clipping in possession of W. 



l8o THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Lindamood, F. M. (Color Sergeant, 51st Virginia Regiment), MS. 
letter to Ca., Wytheville, Va., May 28, 191 1. — Ca. 

McLaughlin, William, Major, MS. letter to W.. Lexington, Va., Jan. 
27, 1897. — W. 

Morton, Howard, "War's Wicked Work." Pittsburg Dispatch, Nov. 
10, 1895. 

Morton, T. C, MS. letter to W., Staunton, Va., Feb. 12, 1896.— W. 

Otey, Peter J., Major, MS. letter to Lieut.-Col. Scott Shipp, Lynchburg, 
Va., April 14, 1873.— W. 

Park, Abraham (Company H, 123d Ohio Regiment), MS. letter to 
Ca., Feb. 16, 191 1. — Ca. 

Parsons J. W., Captain (Company A, i8th Virginia Cavalry), "Cap- 
ture of Battery at New M&irket." Confederate Veteran, XVII, 119 
(March, 1909.) 

Porter, John A., (Company B, 51st Virginia Regiment), MS. letter 
to C. B. Tate, March 3. 1911.— Ca. 

Pratt, G. Julian. Lieutenant (Company H, i8th Virginia Cavalry), 
MS., letter to Ca., Waynesboro, Va., Nov. 19, 1910. — Ca. 

Rand, Noyes, Adjutant (22 Virginia Regiment), MS. letter to Ca., 
Jan. S, 1911. — Ca. 

Richmond, C. H. (Company B, i8th Connecticut Regiment), MS. let- 
ter to Ca., Providence, R. I., Dec. 13, 1910. — Ca. 

Sayers, D. H. (Company B, 51st Virginia Regiment), MS. letter to 
C. B. Tate, Delton, Va.. April 3, 1911.— Ca. 

Smith, Francis L., Brevet-General, MS. letter to W., Alexandria, Va., 
March 27, 1909. — W. 

Smith, George H., Colonel (62d Virginia Regiment), MS. letter to 
W., Los Angeles, Cal., March 7, 1896— W. 

Smith, George H., "More of the Battle of New Market." Confed- 
erate Veteran, XVI, 569-572 (November, 1908). 

Smith, George H., MS. letter to W.. Los Angeles, Cal., July 6, 
1910. — W. 

Smith, George H.. MS. letter to W., Los Angeles, Cal., Oct. I, 
1910. — W. 

Taylor, Blair D., Colonel, MS. letter to W., Atlanta, Ga., May 25, 
1909. — W. 

Thom, William A.. Jr., "Battle of New Market. A Fight Unique in 
the History of War." Norfolk Virginian, Sept. 9, 1894. 

Town, Franklin E., Captain, "An Eye Witness from the Other Side." 
New Market Day. June 23, igoj. (Letter to an old Cadet of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute.) 



BIBLfOGRAPHY l8l 

Waddell, J. N. (Company D, I2th West Virginia Regiment), MS. 
letter to Ca., Taylorsville, III., Nov. 28, 1910. — Ca. 

Wharton, Gabriel C, Brigadier-General, MS. letter to Colonel Fors- 
berg, Radford, Va., Nov. i, 1905. (Disputes Humphrey's contentions, 
and declares that 51st Virginia Regiment captured guns on Federal 
right).— Ca. 

Wharton, Gabriel C, MS. letter to G. W. Dunford, Radford, Va., 
March 26, 1906. — Ca. 

Wolfe, Robert E. (Wharton's Stafif), MS. letter to C. B. Tate, 
Blountville, Tenn., June 7, 191 1. — Ca. 

Wolfe, Robert E., MS. letter to Ca., Blountville. Tenn., June 23, 
191 1. — ^^Ca. 

Yutzy, J. C. (Company C, 54th Pennsylvania Regiment), MS. letter 
to Ca., Falls City, Neb., Feb. 18, 1911.— Ca. 

Young, Adolphus Pennington, MS. extract from letter to General 
Scott Shipp, Newark, N. J., no date. — W. 

IV. 

Accounts Written by Cadets of the Virginia Military 

Institute. 

These accounts were written for Captain Henry A. Wise 
when he was completing his collection of material to be used 
in the composition of this book. Practically every Cadet who 
could be reached has written all that he could remember about 
the part taken by his Battalion in the battle. The result is 
an extraordinary collection, interesting, vivid, detailed, and 
minute. Extensive use has been made of these accounts, but 
they have constantly been viewed as subject to the following 
limitations : 

1. Inevitably the Cadets are interested witnesses. 

2. Unconsciously they tend to magnify the exploits of 
their Battalion. 

3. The accounts contain many inaccuracies and contra- 
dictions caused by the forty or more years intervening between 
the event described and the writing. 



1 82 T^iiE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Accordingly no statement contained in these descriptions 
has been accepted unless supported by some other statement 
made independently, and has then been subjected to sharp 
scrutiny. 

Anderson, Charles J., MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., March 28, 
1909. — W. 

Bagnall, J. S., MS. letter to W., Norfolk, Va., March 22, 1900.— W. 

Baylor, J. B., MS. letter to W., Van Buren, Va., June 6, 1909. — W. 

Bennett, W. G., MS letter to W., Weston, W. Va., May 12, 1909.— W. 

Berkeley, Edmund, MS. letter to Preston Cocke, Atlanta, Ga., June 
I, 1903. — W. 

Bowen, H. C, MS. letter to W., Remington, Va., May 5, 1909. — W. 

Bransford, J. R, MS. letter to W., Bon Air, Va., June 26, 1895.— W. 

Bransford, J. R, MS. letter to W., May 5, 1909.— W. 

Clarkson, J. H., MS. letter to W., Chicago, May 15, 1909. — W. 

Claybrook, F. W., MS. letter to W., Kilmarnock, Va., April 8, 
1909. — W. 

Cocke, Preston, MS. letter to Edmund Berkeley, May 26, 1903. — W. 

Cocke, Preston, MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., July 25, 1895. — W. 

Cocke, Preston, MS. letter to W., Jan. 6, 1909. — W. 

Cocke, Preston, MS. statement as to the movements of the Cadets. 
Oct. 27, 1910. — W. 

Cocke, P. St. G., MS. letter to W., Charlottesville, Va., June 12, 
1909. — W. 

Colonna, Benjamin A.. MS. letter to W., Washington, April 14, 
1909. — W. 

Colonna, Benjamin A., MS. letter to W., May 6, 1909. — W. 

Cousins, R. H., MS. letter to W., Austin, Texas, May 12, 1909. — W. 

Crockett, C. C, MS. letter to W., Americus. Ga., May 29, 1909. — W. 

Davenport, Gideon A., MS. Description of the Battle of New Market, 
in letter to Preston Cocke, Richmond, Va., Jan. 28, 1895. — W. 

Early, J. Cabell, MS. letter to W., Lynchburg, Va., May 30, 1909. — W. 

Etheredge, C. M.. MS. letter to W., Charlotte, N. C, April 30, 
1909. — W. 

Faulkner, Charles J., MS. letter to W., Washington, March 30, 
1909. — W. 

Fry, Hugh W., MS. letter to W.. Bonsack, Va., May 23. 1909. — W. 

Garrett, V. R, MS. letter to W., Williamsburg, Va., April 26, 
1909. — W. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



183 



Gretter, George VV., MS. letter to W., Watsonville, Cal., May 3, 
1909. — W. 

Harris, W. O., MS. letter to W., Louisville, Ky., April 19, 1909. — W. 

Harrison, Cairter H., MS. letter to /W., Staunton, Va., May 5, 
1909. — W. 

Harrison, W. J., MS. letter to W., Westover, Va., May 26, 1909.— W. 

Harvie, James B., MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., June 4, 1909. — W. 

Hiden, P. B., MS. letter to W., Washington, May 6, 1909.— W. 

Horseley, John, MS. letter to W., Lexington, Va., April 28, 1909. — W. 

Howard, J. C, MS. letter to W., Ashland. Va., May 10, 1909.— W. 

Hupp, R. C, MS. letter to W., Detroit, Mich., May 30, 1909.— W. 

James, F. W., MS. letter to W., Abilene, Texas, March 29, 1909.— W. 

Johnson, Porter. MS. letter to W., Wheeling, W. Va., June 8, 
1909. — W. 

Jones, W. S., MS. letter to W.. Abingdon, Va., May 23, 1909. — W. 

Kemp, W., MS. letter to General James A. Goggin, El Paso, Texas, 
March 25, 1888. (Copy.)— W. 

Kemp, W., MS. letter to W., March 12, 1895.— W. 

Kirk, W. M., MS. letter to W., White Stone, Va., April 27, 1909.— W. 

Lee, George Taylor, MS. letter to W., Johnson City, Tenn., May 15, 
1909. — W. 

Letcher, S. H., MS. letter to W., Lexington, Va., May 2, 1909. — W. 

McGavock, J. W., MS. letter to W., Pulaski, Va.. May 20, 1909.— W. 

Martin, William Bruce, MS. letter to W., Norfolk, Va., Jan. 5, 
1909. — W. 

Mason, S. B., MS. letter to W., New York, May 13, 1909.— W. 

Minge, C. H., MS. letter to W., Mississippi City, April 24, 1909. — W. 

Mohler, D. G., MS. Recollections of the Battle of New Market, 
1909. — W. 

Morgan. P. H., MS. letter to W., Shawboro, N. C. May 5, 1909.— W. 

Nalle, G. B. W., MS. letter to W.. Culpeper, Va., June 15, 1909.— W. 

Noland, N. B., MS. letter to Charles Read, Offley. Va.. Oct. 18. 
1895.— W. 

N'oland, N. B., MS. letter to W.. Beaver Dam. Va., May 24, 1909.— W. 

Noland, N. B.. MS. letter to W., May 31, 1909.— W. 

Overton, A. W., MS. letter to W., Frankfort. Ky.. April 26, 1909.— W. 

Patton, W. M.. MS. letter to W., Chicago, June 10. 1895.— W. 

Payne, A. S., MS. letter to W., Lynchburg, Va., May 17, 1909. — W. 

Pizzini, Andrew, Jr., MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., March 30, 
1909. — W. 

Powell, John A., MS. letter to W., Wytheville, Va., May 17, 1909. — W. 



iS^ THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Preston, T. W., MS. letter to W., Vicksburg, Miss., May ii, 1909.— W. 

Ridley, R., MS. letter to W., Portsmouth, Va., May 10, 1909.— W. 

Ross, Erskine M., MS. letter to W., Los Angeles, Cal., March 23, 
1896.— W. 

Ross, Erskine M., MS. letter to W., March 29, 1909. — W. 

Ross, George (Ex-Assistant Surgeon in charge of Cadet Battalion), 
MS. letter to Preston Cocke, Richmond, Va., Dec. 28, 1894.— W. 

Royster, Lawrence, MS. letter to W., Norfolk, Va., June 12, 1895. — W. 

Rutherfoord, Thomas M., MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., May 24, 
1909. — W. 

Shipp, Scott, General, MS. letter to W., Lexington, Va., Feb. 15, 
1897.— w. 

Shipp, Scott, MS. letter to W., April 2, 1909. — W. 

Shipp, Scott, MS. letter to W., June 2, 1909. — W. 

Shipp, Scott, MS. letter to A. P. Young, April 28, 1873. (Copy.)— W. 

Spiller, George, MS. letter to W., Jacksboro, Texas, March 6, 
1909. — W. 

Spiller, W. H., MS. letter to W., Wytheville, Va., May 10, 1909.— W. 

Tabb, John, MS. letter to W., Gloucester, Va., May 21, 1909. — W. 

Temple, P. C, MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., May 5, 1909.— W. 

Thomson, A. Pembroke, MS. letter to W., Summit Point, April i, 
1909. — W. 

Tunstall, Richard B., MS., leter to Preston Cocke, Norfolk, Va., 
Dec. 27, 1894. — W. 

Tunstall, Richard B., MS. letter to W., March 16, 1909.— W. 

Tunstall, Richard B., MS. letter to W., March 30, 1909.— W. 

Tunstall, Richard B., MS. letter to W., June 4, 1909.— W. 

Tutwiler, E. M., MS. letter to W., Birmingham, Ala., April 29, 
1909. — W. 

Upshur, J. N., MS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., March 21, 1909.— W. 

Upshur, J. N., "The Battle of New Market. An Address Delivered 
on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Memorial Monument at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, June Twenty-Third, Nineteen-Three," etc., Nciv 
Market Day. (A good account of the part of the Cadets, though marred 
by the excessive laudation which has characterized most of the writing 
upon this subject.) 

Venable, W. L.. MS. letter to W., Petersburg. Va., April 26, 1909.— W. 

Waller, Robert E., MS. letter to W., Gatewood, Va., May 26, 
1909. — W 

Washington. L., MS. letter to W.. Chicago, May 25, 1909. — W. 

White, William H., 1\IS. letter to W., Richmond, Va., March 29. 
1909. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 85 

Whitehead, H. C, MS. letter to W., Norfolk, Va., March 24, 1909.— W. 

Wimbish, L. W., MS. letter to W., Phillis, Va., May 3, 1909.— W. 

Wise, John S., "The West Point of the Confederacy," Century, 
XXXVII, 461-471 (January, 1889). 

Wise, John S., Memorial Address of Hon. John S. Wise Delivered 
at the Unveiling of a Monument to the Memory of the Southern Soldiers 
and V. M. I. Cadets Who Fell in the Battle of Nezv Market, May 15, 1S64. 
1898. 

Wise, John S., "Address" before the Alumni of the Virginia Military 
Institute. New Market Day. 1903. — W. 

(These papers are beautifully written, but are inaccurate and colored 
by imagination.) 

Wise, John S., MS. letter to W., New York, March 18, 1909.— W. 

Wise, Henry A., numerous MS. letters to the author, bearing most;- 
upon the part taken by the Cadets. — ^A. 

Wise, Louis C, MS. Reminiscences of the Battle of New Market. 
1909. — W. 

Wood, J. E., MS. letter to W., Elizabeth City, N. C, May i, 1909.— W. 

Woodbridge, J. E., MS. letter to W., May 27, 1909. — W. 

V. 

Maps and Diagrams^ for the Most Part by Participants 
IN THE Battle. 

Many of these are contradictory, and possess but little 
value. 

Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confed- 
erate Armies. Published under the Direction of the Hons. Redfield Proc- 
tor, Stephen B. Elkins, and Daniel S. Lamont, Secretaries of War, by 
Major George B. Davis, U. S. Army, Mr. Leslie J. Perry, Civilian Ex- 
pert, Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley, Civilian Ex^pert, . . . Compiled by 
Capt. Calvin D. Cozules, 23d U. S. Infantry. Washington, 1891-1895. 
(Maps excellent and minute.) 

Bagnall. J. S. (C), Plan of Positions of Cadets at the Battle of New 
Market. 1909. — W. 



l86 THE NEW MARKET CAMPAIGN 

Bransford, J. F. (C), Diagram of the Battle of New Market. 
1895.— W. 

Colonna, B. A. (C), Plan of the Battle of New Market. 1909. (Ex- 
cellent).— W. 

(Imboden. John D., Brigadier-General), "The Battle of New Market," 
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, IV, 480-486, map inserted in, (p. 
482), inaccurate and misleading. 

Lang, Theodore F., Major, Diagram of the Battle of New Market. 
No date. (Apparently not an independent drawing, and of little im- 
portance). — W. 

McLaughlin. William, Major, Diagram of the Battle of New Market. 
1897.— W. 

Wharton, Gabriel C., Brigadier-General, Diagram of the Battle of New 
Market. (The authorship should make this work valuable, but it is diffi- 
cult to estimate the value, since I have been unable to ascertain upon 
what data it was based. Apparently it was executed too long after the 
battle to be accurate.) — In possession of Elon O. Henkel, New Market, 
Va. 

Wise, Henry A., A series of maps and sketches drawn or copied 
by.— W. 

Young, Adolphus Pennington, Diagram of the Battle of New Market. 
1875. (Copy.)— W. 

VI. 

Authorities, Secondary Accounts, and Miscellaneous. 

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Being for the Most Part Con- 
tributions by Union and' Confederate Officers. Based upon "The Cen- 
tury War Series." Edited by Robert Underivood Johnson and Clarence 
Cloiigh Buel, of the Editorial Staff of "The Century Magazine" New- 
York, 1887- 1888. 

Cameron, William E., "The Cadet Warriors of Old Virginia." (Bal- 
timore) Herald, Oct. 28, 1894. 

Conrad, Holmes, "Address", New Market Day. 1903. 

Crim, Mrs. E. C, "When Boys Fought Like Veterans," (Richmond) 
Times-Dispatch, Nov. 14, 1909. 

Crim, Mrs. E. C, MS. letter to Ca., New Market, Dec. 13, 1910. 
("Mother Crim," who still lives in New Market, witnessed the charge of 
the Cadets, and nursed those who fell in the battle.) — Ca. 



BIBLfOGRAPHY 1 87 

Early, Jubal A., Lieutenant-General, A Memoir of the Last Year of 
the War for Independence, in the Confederate States of America, etc., 
New Orleans, 1867. 

Goolrick, John T., Jr., "Brave Boys of Lexington. How the Vir- 
ginia Cadets Carried Themselves in Battle." Mobile Daily Register, June 
29, 1895. 

Gordon, Armistead C, "New Market. A Threnody." New Market 
Day. 

Long, A. L., Memoirs of Robert E. Lee, His Military and Personal 
History, etc.. New York, 1887. 

Pond, George E., Tlie Shenandoah Valley in 1864, New York, 1883. 
(Reviewed by Colonel William Allan in Southern Historical Society 
Papers, XI, 270-282.) 

(Richmond) State, Feb. 9, 15, 21, March 8, 13. April 4, 1888. (Con- 
troversy between James Henderson Smith and General Early as to alleged 
assertions about the superior drill and effectiveness of the Cadets.) 



INDEX 



Adams, i^lonzo W., Lieutenant- 
Colonel, U. S. A., commands 
First New York (Lincoln) Cav- 
alry at New Market, no. 

Adams, John W., 34th Massachu- 
setts Regiment, estimates strength 
of opposing armies at New Mar- 
ket, 116. 

Agincourt, topography of, 22; 
French charge through mud in 
battle of, 70. 

Alumnos of the Colegio Militar, 
150; splendid conduct of, at Cha- 
pultepec, 150; exploits celebrated 
annually, 150 n. 

Andeirson, Joseph R., Historio- 
grapher of the Virginia Military 
Institute, 164 n. 

Appomattox River, 2. 

Armv. Confederate, at New Market, 
strength of, as estimated by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel William S. Lin- 
coln, 112; strength of, as esti- 
mated by Major-General Franz 
Sigel, 113; as estimated by Col- 
onel J. Stoddard Johnston, 113; 
as estimated by Colonel George 
H. Smith, 114; as estimated by 
author, 114. 

Army, Federal, at New Market, 
possibility of capture of, dis- 
cussed, 07, 98; composition of, 
no; strength of, as estimated by 
Sigel, in; as estimated by au-' 
thor, III. 

Artillery, Confederate, commanded 
by McLaughlin, 28; begins battle 
of New Market, 30; silences Fed- 
eral guns in New Market, 30; 
helps to hold Confederate right, 
62-64J maintains duel with Fed- 
eral artillery, 64 ; splendid work 
of, 95; strength of. 95; summary 



of strength of, 115; positions of, 
131- 

Artillerv, Federal, in New Market, 
30; part of, captured by Edgar on 
Federal right, 50; losses of, 71, 
99 n. ; strength of, 95 ; summary 
of strength of, 115. 

Asociacion del Colegio Militar, an- 
nual celebration by, of bravery of 
the Alumnos of the Colegio Mili- 
tar, 150 n. 

Augusta County, Virginia, reserves 
of, summoned, 10. 

Averell, William W., Brigadier- 
General, U. S. A., joins Crook, 4. 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, im- 
portance of, 3; raided by McNeill, 
10. 

Banks. Nathaniel P., Major-General, 
U. S. A., attempt of, upon Mobile, 
2. 

Batteries, Federal, positions of, un- 
certainty about, 123 ; where sta- 
tioned, 123, 124. 

Battle of New Market, see New 
Market, battle of. 

Becker, Gottfried, Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, U. S. A., commands Twenty- 
eighth Ohio Regiment at New 
Market. 37; mentioned, no. 

Belgian rifles. Cadets armed with, 
81 n. ; discarded by Cadets, 81 n. 

Berkelev. Carter, Lieutenant. C. S. 
A., commands section of McClan- 
ahan's Battery at New Market, 
39 ; on Confederate right, 63 ; pur- 
sues fleeing Federals, 94; describes 
flight of Federal soldiers, 98 n. 

Blakely, William, Lieutenant-Col- 
onel. U. S. A., commands Four- 
teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry at 
New Market, no. 



189 



IQO 



INDEX 



Boyd, William H., Colonel, U. S. 
A., defeated by Imboden, 5. 

Bralley, G. S., 51st Virginia Regi- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fifty-first Regiment, 144. 

Breastwork, thrown up by Confed- 
erates, 30. 
O Breckinridge, John Cabell, Major- 
General, C. S. A., sets out to join 
Imboden, 6; in charge of West- 
ern Department of Virginia, 11; 
jurisdiction of, 11 ; forces at dis- 
posal of, II, 12; learns of Crook's 
advance, 12 ; prepares to resist, 
12 ; ordered to defend Staunton, 
12; marches to Staunton with 
4,000 men, 13 ; determines to ad- 
vance beyond Staunton, 19, 20; 
orders Imboden to abandon New 
Market, 24; desires to be attacked 
by Sigel, 24, 25 ; resolves to attack 
Sigel, 25 ; arranges troops skil- 
fully, 26; takes possession of New 
Market, 31 ; daring generalship of, 
32 ; wishes to save Cadets, 32 n. ; 
describes arrangement of his 
troops, 34 n. ; permits Imboden to 
cross Smith's Creek, 41 n. ; orders 
Imboden to destroy bridge over 
Shenandoah River, 42; prepares 
to assault Federal right, 46 ; as- 
sists on Confederate left, ^17; re- 
port of, on Confederate advance, 
65 n. ; apparentlv in danger of de- 
feat, 75, 80; commends conduct of 
Cadets, 88 n. ; directs pursuit of 
Federal troops, 94 n. ; arduous 
work of, 94 ni. ; pursues Federal 
Arm- to Shenandoah River, 96 n. ; 
snlendid results of his campaign, 
09: compared with Stonewall 
Jackson, 99 n. ; oflficial report of. 
103 n. ; commander-in-chief of 
Confederates at New Market, in ; 
early life of, 119; serves in war 
with Mexico, 119; political career 
of, 119, 120; Vice-President of the 
United States, 119; Democratic 
candidate for the presidency in 
i860, 120; enters service of the 



Confederacy, 120; military career 
of, 120; in New Market campaign, 
120; during last days of the Con- 
federacy, 120; latter years of, 121; 
estimate of character of, 121 ; 
splendid appearance of, 121 n. ; 
meets Smith and Patton during 
battle, 129. 

Bridge, over Shenandoah River, de- 
stroyed, 96. 

Brown, Corporal, 26th Virginia Bat- 
talion, mentioned for gallantry, 
136. 

Bruce, D. H., Captain, 51st Virginia 
Regiment, tells of confusion in 
Fifty-first Regiment, 48 n. ; de- 
scribes fighting done by Fifty-first 
Regiment, 59 n. 

Bryan, D. R., 54th Pennsylvania 
Regiment, describes heavy firing, 
55 n- 

Burdette, F. C, Captain, 26th Vir- 
f^inia Battalion, describes part 
taken by 26th Battalion, 138. 

Bushong House, reached by Sixty- 
second Virginia Regiment, 53 ; 
Cadets march around, J7 ; relation 
of, to positions of Confederate 
commands, 129, 130. 

Bushong's Hill, north of New Mar- 
ket. Federals posted on, 23 ; Sigel 
makes desperate stand on, 43 ; 
muddy condition of, 70, 85. 

Butler, Benjamin F., Major-General, 
advance of, against Richmond, 2; 
shut up between James and Ap- 
pomattox Rivers, 2 ; relations of, 
with Grant, 2 n. 

Cabell, W. H., Cadet, death of de- 
scribed, y6 n., 104 n. 

Cabells of Virginia, Breckinridge re- 
lated to, 119. 

Cadet Battalion, roster of, difficulty 
in making, 163 ; how drawn up, 
163 ; results of investigations con- 
cerninpf 163, 164. 

Cadet section of artillery, 28; helps 
to silence Federal guns in New 



INDEX 



191 



Market, 2)^; advances with Mc- 
Laughlin, 39. 
Cadets of the Virginia Military In- 
stitute, summoned by Imboden, 
13; ordered to Richmond, 14; 
called "Seed Corn of the Con- 
federacy," 15; wish to take part 
in war, 15 ; offer services to Gen- 
eral Lee, 16: set out to join Im- 
boden and Breckinridge, 17; reach 
Staunton, 18; at New Market, 27; 
held in reserve, 28; youthful ap- 
pearance of, causes ridicule, ^i^^ ', 
ask to be allowed to take part in 
battle, 2>2 n., 2ti n- 5 PUt into action, 
2,:i ; refuse to remain in rear, Zi \ 
in second part of battle, 46; make 
no progress in Confederate center, 
51 ; fill gap in Confederate line, 
57, 75. 79; help to repulse Federal 
attack, 58; drive Federals from 
their position, 60; uncertainty sur- 
rounding exploits of, 66; exag- 
gerated assertions about, 66; ex- 
ploits of, studied, then doubted, 
67 ; desire that truth be ascer- 
tained about their conduct, 67 ; 
story of charge by, on battery, 68 ; 
charge of, described by Captain 
Franklin E. Town, 68, 69; charge 
of, described by Major T. F. 
Lang, 69 n. ; impossible stories 
about, 72 ; confusion as to posi- 
tions of. 72, JT, ; lament propaga- 
tion of fictitious accounts, y^, ; be- 
"'in advance, y2>\ subjected to artil- 
lery fire, 7Z, 72^'^- : admirable con- 
duct of. y^ ; halt in sheltered posi- 
tion, 74; march toward Bushong 
House. 75; admirable discipline 
of, 76; rectify alignment under 
fire, 76; subjected to terrific artil- 
lery fire at Bushong Houjc, 78 ; 
in perilous position, 80; near to 
F deral army, 81; subjected to 
terrible fire in orchard, 81 ; fire 
of, from Bushong's orchard, de- 
scribed bv T. N. Waddell, 81 n. ; 
confusion among, 82 ; help to re- 
pel Federal countercharge, 83; 



ordered to charge, by Captain 
Henry A. Wise, 84; conduct of, 
inspires troops nearby, 84, 85 ; 
charge of, described, 85 ; charge 
Vc . Kleiser's Battery, 86; can- 
non captured by, 86 ; charge of, 
comments upon, 87 ; remarkable 
conduct of, 87. 88; actual services 
of, 88; commended by Breckin- 
ridge, 88 n. ; attack Thirty-fourth 
Massachusetts Regiment, 91 ; cap- 
ture prisoners, 91 n. ; exhausted, 
93 n. ; heavy losses of. 98; ac- 
claimed by people of New Mar- 
ket. 106; receive ovation during 
march through Valley, 106 n. ; 
ordered to Richmond, 107 ; re- 
ceive flag from Governor of Vir- 
ginia. 107; thanked in behalf of 
Confederate House of Represen- 
tatives, 107 ; thanked by Presi- 
dent Davis, 107 n. ; in Richmond 
second time, 107, 108; and Von 
Kleiser's Battery. 124. 125 ; uncer- 
taimtv about position of. 126 ; 
position of. described by Breck- 
inridge, 126 ; position of, described 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Shipp, 126; 
position of according to Cap- 
tain Wise. 126; according to Lieu- 
tenant-iColonel Derrick. 126. 127; 
position of, determined positively 
by Bushong House, 127 ; position 
of, different at different times, 
127; position of, with reference 
to Sixty-second Virginia Regi- 
ment, 127; position of, described 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Lincoln, 
127, 128 ; comments upon, 128 ; 
position of, determined bv state- 
ment of Captain Frank Preston, 
130; as determined by author. 
130; uncertainty about capture of 
cannon by. 152; capture cannon 
from Von Kleiser's Battery, 152; 
author's explanation of dissimilar 
stories about. 156-158; author's 
conclusions concerning. 160. 161. 
Campbell. Jacob M.. Colonel, U. S. 
A., commands Fifty-fourth Penn- 



192 



INDEX 



sylvania Regiment at New Mar- 
ket, 37; describes countercharge 
of Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania, 57 
n. ; describes attack by Confed- 
erates, 92 n. ; describes retreat of 
Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania, 92 n. ; 
describes movements of Fifty- 
fourth Pennsylvania, 123. 

Capitol Square, Richmond, flag pre- 
sented to Cadets in, 107. 

Carlin, John, Captain, U. S. A., 
commands Battery D, First West 
Virginia, at New Market, 37, in; 
fire of, described, 78 n. 

Carr, John O., 26th Virginia Bat- 
talion, praised for good conduct, 
135 ; describes part taken by 
Twenty-sixth Battalion, 141. 

Cavalry, Confederate, does little ser- 
vice in battle of New Market, 43. 

Cavalry, Federal, charge by, sug- 
gested, 56 n. ; repulsed, 59; driven 
back by Imboden, 62; charge by, 
on Confederate right. 63, 64; dis- 
astrous repulse of, 64; defeated, 

91- 
Cedar Creek, Virgmia, Sigel at, 5, 

6. 

Chapman, Captain, C. S. A., com- 
mands battery at New Market. 
28; mentioned, 112. 

Chapman's Battetry, advances, 39; 
on Confederate right, 62. 

Chaoultepec, splendid conduct of 
Alumnos of the Colegio Militar 
at, ISO. 

Charlottesville, Cadets receive ova- 
tion at, 106 n. 

Church-yard, Federal artillery in. 

30. 

Civil War, comments upon aspects 
of, 108. 

Clarke, J. Lyle. Colonel, C. S. A., 
commands Thirtieth Virginia Bat- 
talion at battle of New Market. 
29; describes beginning of battle. 
29 n. ; mentioned, in. 

Qovd's Mountain, Virginia. Crook 
defeats A. G. Jenkins at, 4. 

Colonna, Benjamin A., Cadet, 



speaks of rainy weather and 
muddy fields, 26 n. ; describes can- 
nonade, 30 n. ; describes charge 
of Cadets, 59 n. ; describes con- 
fusion in Confederate line, 75 n. ; 
part of, in ordering charge of 
Cadets, 84 n. ; describes charge 
of Cadets against Von Kleiser's 
Battery. 153. 

Commanids, Confederate, positions 
of, 125. 126. 

Commanders, Federal, expect vic- 
tory, 48, 55, 56. 

Confederacy, why able to resist so 
long. 108. 

Confederate artillery, see Artillery, 
Confederate. 

Confederate cavalry, see Cavalry, 
Confederate. 

Confederates, maneuver on Shir- 
ley's Hill, 26; arrangement of. in 
second part of battle of New 
Market, 34 ; successful advance of, 
in second part of battle. 59 ; gen- 
eral advance of, 65 ; apparently 
defeated, 78; behave well in try- 
ing situation, 79; exhausted, pur- 
sue only short distance. 93 : re- 
sume advance and prepare to at- 
tack Rude's Hill, 95; regret fail- 
ure to cut off Sigel's retreat, 07; 
losses of, 98; rejoicings of, after 
victory, 104; numbers of. actu- 
ally engaged at New Market. nS- 

Cousins, R. H.. Cadet, describes 
terrific artillery fire at Bushong 
House, 77 n. ; describes charge 
of Cadets against Von Kleiser's 
Battery. 152 n. 

Crim, E. C, Mrs.. "Mother Crim," 
describes beginning of battle of 
New Market. 30 n. 

Crockett. C. G.. Cadet, death of. 
described. 76 n. 

Crook. George, Brigadier-General. 
U. S. A., in southwest Virginia. 
3 ; expedition of. planned. 3 ; de- 
feats A. G. Jenkins at Cloyd's 
Mountain, Virginia, 4; burns 
bridge over New River, 4; joins 



INDEX 



193 



Averell, 4; expedition of, largely 
successful, 4. 
Curtis, William B., Colonel, U. S. 
A., commands Twelfth West Vir- 
ginia Regiment at New Market, 

Daniel, J. T., Major, U. S. A., com- 
mands first Maryland Cavalry at 
New Market, no. 

Davenport, Gideon, Cadet, de- 
scribes arrangement of Confed- 
erate troops, 34 n. ; describes 
death of Cadets, 76 n. 

Davis, Jefiferson, President of the 
Confederate States, informs 
Breckinridge of Sigel's advance, 
12; thanks Cadets for services, 
107 n. 

Davis, T. Sturgis, Major, C. S. A., 
commands detachment of Davis' 
Maryland Battalion at New Mar- 
ket, III. 

Derrick, Clarence, Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel, C. S. A., commands Twenty- 
third Virginia Battalion at New 
Market, 27 ; holds Confederate 
right against odds, 42 ; opposes 
Federal left, 45 ; in second part of 
battle, 46; perilous position of, 61 ; 
covers wide extent of ground, 61, 
62; mentioned, in. 

Dublin, Virginia, Crook destroys 
Confederate stores at, 4; head- 
quarters of Breckinridge at, 11. 

Dunford, G. W., Sist Virginia Regi- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fiftv-ifirst Virginia Regiment, 144. 

Du Pont, H. A., Captain, U. S. 
A., commands Battery B, Fifth 
United States, at New Market, 
38; describes retreat of Federal 
army, 93 n. ; describes work of his 
battery. 93 n. ; destroys bridge 
over Shenandoah River, and so 
cuts oflf pursuit, 96 n. ; mentioned, 
HI. 

Du Font's Battery, retards pursuit 
by Confederates, 93 ; position of, 
125. 



Echelons, Confederates arranged 
in, 28. 

Echols, John, Brigadier-General. C. 
S. A., at Monroe Draught, Vir- 
ginia. 11; goes to Confederate 
left. 47; commands of, make slow 
progress, 80; commands brigade 
of infantry at New Market, in. 

Edgar, George M., Lieutenant-Col- 
onel, C. S. A., commands Twenty- 
sixth Virginia Battalion at New 
Market, 27 ; in second part of bat- 
tle, 46; explains why Twenty- 
sixth Battalion marched behind 
Fifty-first Regiment, 47 n. ; speaks 
of disorder in Fifty-first Regi- 
ment, 48 n. ; on duration of fight- 
ing, 49 n. ; official report of, men- 
tioned, 51, 52; on turning-point in 
battle, 88 n. ; success of, on Fed- 
eral right, 91 ; praises excellent 
leadership of Breckinridge, 99 n. ; 
mentioned, in; strength of op- 
posing armies at New Market es- 
timated by, 116; official report of, 
134-136: comments on, 136. 

Eighteenth Connecticut Regiment, 
reaches New Market, 30; in sec- 
ond part of battle, 36; in Federal 
first line, 44; makes feeble resist- 
ance, 44 ; remnant of, 61 ; gives 
little aid to Federal second line, 
91. 

Eighteenth Virginia Cavalry, ^- 
Imboden, 35; crosses Smith's 
Creek, 41. 

Etheredge, C. M.. Cadet, describes 
charge against Von Kleiser's Bat- 
tery, 15s. 

Evans, O. P., Color-bearer of the 
Cadets, mentioned, 149. 

Evving, Chatham T., Captain, U. S. 
A., commands Battery G. First 
West Virginia Light Artillery, at 
New Market, 2>7', mentioned, in. 

Ewing's Battery, position of, 125. 

Ezekiel, Moses, Sir. Cadet, sculptor 
of "Virginia Mourning Her 
Dead," 105. 



194 



INDEX 



Federal army, see Army, Federal. 

Federal artillery, see Artillery, Fed- 
eral, 

Federal cavalry, see Cavalry, Fed- 
eral. 

Federals, in New Market, 28; aban- 
don New Market, 31 ; on Bu- 
shong's Hill, 31 ; arrangement of, 
in second part of battle, 35-38; 
strong position held by, 35 ; coun- 
tercharge of, repulsed, 57, 58, 82; 
apparently successful, 78; driven 
from position, 86; retreat of, de- 
scribed, 91 ; take up third position 
on Rude's Hill, 95; losses of, 98; 
number of, actually engaged at 
New Market, 115. 

Fifteenth New York Cavalry, de- 
tachment of, at New Market, 28. 

Fifty-first Virginia Regiment, men- 
tioned, 27; in second part of bat- 
tle, 46; leads attack on Federal 
right, 47; repulsed, 48; bears 
brunt of fighting on Confederate 
left, 49; renews advance, 50; con- 
troversy between, and Twenty- 
sixth Virginia Battalion about 
capture of Federal guns, 52, 134; 
halts in confusion, 53 ; helps to 
drive Federals from position, 60; 
renews advance, 59, 83 ; attacks 
Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Reg- 
iment, 91 ; position of, 125 ; officers 
and men of, accounts by, 142-146; 
judgment upon work of, by au- 
thor, 146; actual services of, 146, 

147. 

Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, in second part of battle, 
37^ 53 ; makes forced march, 37 
n. ; countercharge of, repulsed, 
57, 58, <S3 ; driven from position. 
60; resistance of, 92; heavy losses 
of, 98 n. ; position of, described 
by Colonel Campbell, 123. 

First New York Cavalry, at New 
Market, 28. 

First West Virginia Regiment, at 
New Market, 28; in second part 
of battle, 37; opposes Sixty-sec- 



ond Virginia Regiment, 53 ; coun- 
tercharge of, repulsed, 57, 58; 
driven from position, 60; attacked 
by Confederates, 91. 

Forsberg. Colonel, C. S. A., com- 
mander of Fifty-first Virginia 
Regiment, sickness of, 27 n. ; men- 
tioned, III; comment of, on work 
of Fifty-first Regiment, 143. 

Fort Monroe, advance of Butler 
from, 2. 

Fredericksburg, Virginia, topo- 
graphy of, 22. 

Fry, Hugh W., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 153. 

Gazeby, George W., 54th Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment, diary of, de- 
scribes New Market Campaign, 
162. 

George W. W., Lieutenant, 26th 
Virginia Battalion, describes part 
taken by Twenty-sixth Battalion, 
140, 141. 

Gettysburg, consequences of battle 
of, I ; topography of, 22. 

Gilbert, A. J., 123d Ohio Regiment, 
describes dispersion of Federal 
army, 6 n. 

Gilmor, Harry, Major, C. S. A., 
commands Gilmor's Maryland 
Battalion at New Market, in. 

Gordon, Armistead C, author of 
"Threnody" in memory of Cadet?, 
105 n. 

Governor of Virginia, presents flag 
to Cadets, 107. 

Grant, Ulysses S., Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral, U. S. A., position of, at be- 
ginning of 1864, I ; plans to over- 
whelm Confederate resistance, i, 
2 ; advance of, against Lee, 2 ; 
meets Lee in Wilderness, 2; de- 
sires destruction of railroads in 
Valley of Virginia, 3 ; desires cap- 
ture of Lynchburg and Staunton, 
3 ; plans expeditions of Sigel and 
Crook, 3; explains purpose of 



INDEX 



195 



Sigel's expedition, 4 n; disgusted 
at Sigel's defeat, 102 ; comment of, 
upon Sigel's failure, 102 n. 
Gretter, George W., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 155. 

Halleck, Henrj^ W., Major-General, 
U. S. A., criticises Sigel, 102 n. 

Harrison, W. J., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 156. 

Harrisonburg, Virginia, Confed- 
erates reach, 19; Cadets receive 
ovation at, 106 n. 

Hart, W. I., Captain, C. S. A., said 
to have commanded Engineer 
Corps at New Market, 112. 

Herodotos, cited in connection with 
numerical exaggeration, 116. 

Higgins, Jacob, Colonel, U. S. A., 
defeated by Imboden, 5. 

Hines, G. W., Lieutenant, 26th Vir- 
ginia Battalion, describes part 
taken by Twenty-sixth Battalion, 
137, 138. 

House of Representatives, Confed- 
erate, passes resolution thanking 
Cadets, 107. 

Humorous incidents after battle of 
New Market, 105. 

Humphreys, C. W., 26th Virginia 
Battalion, purpose of articles by, 
in Richmond Times-Dispatch, 51 
n ; explains halt of Twenty-sixth 
Battalion, 60 n. 

Hunter, David, Major-General, U. 
S. A., succeeds Sigel, 103 ; burns 
Virginia Military Institute in re- 
taliation for work of Cadets, 107. 

Imboden, George W., Colonel, C. S. 
A., commands Eighteenth Vir- 
ginia Cavalry at New Market, 
III. 

Imboden, John D., Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, C. S. A., opposes Sigel, 5 ; 
defeats Higgins and Boyd, 5, 10; 
learns of Sigel's plans, g; asks 



Lee for as.-istance, 10; retreats 
slowly, 10; calls out reserves, 10; 
summons Cadets of the Virginia 
Military Institute, 10; calls out re- 
serves and Cadets, 13; meets 
Breckinridge, 24; confronts Fed- 
eral cavalry, 40; reconnoiters Fed- 
eral position, 40 ; crosses Smith's 
Cieek, 41; takes position on Fed- 
eral left flank, 41 ; considers 
achievement important, 41 ; criti- 
cism of, 42 ; gives little help in 
crisis of struggle, 80; describes 
conduct of Breckinridge, 94 n. ; 
fails to destroy bridge over Shen- 
andoah River, 96; comment of, 
on importance of Confederate 
victory at New Market, 104 n. ; 
mentioned, iii. 



Jackson, Captain, C. S. A., com- 
mands batterv at New Market, 
28; on Confederate right, 62; 
mentioned, 112. 

Jackson, Thomas Jonathan. Major, 
afterwards Lieutenant-General, 
takes Cadets to Richmond, 14, 
15 ; impression caused by death of, 
16. 

Jackson, W. L., Colonel, C. S. A., 
mentioned, 11. 

Jackson's Battery, doubt about work 
of, 95- 

James, F. W., Cadet, describes fir- 
ing t»y Cadets in orchard, 82 n. 

James River, 2. 

Jefferson, T. G., Cadet, death of, 
described, 77 n. 

Jenkins, Albert G., Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, C. S. A., defeated by Crook 
at Cloyd's Mountain, 4; at Nar- 
rows of New River, 11. 

Johnston, J. Stoddard, Colonel, C. 
S. A., describes arrangement of 
Confederate troops, 34 n. ; de- 
scribes advance of Confederate 
artillery, 39 n. 

Jones, H. C, Cadet, death of, de- 
scribed, 76 n. 



igG 



INDEX 



Jones, W. W., 26th Virginia Bat- 
talion, describes part taken by 
Twenty-sixth Battalion, 138. 

Jordanes, cited in connection with 
numerical exaggeration, 116. 

Kanawha region of southwest Vir- 
■ ginia, 3. 

Kellogg, Horace, Major, U. S. A., 
commands One Hundred and 
Twenty-third Ohio Regiment at 
New Market, 29; mentioned, no. 

Kemp, Wyndham, Cadet, describes 
muddy condition of Bushong's 
Hill, 76 n. ; describes rectification 
of alignment of Cadets under fire, 

^77 n. 

Key to topographical map of New 
Market battlefield. 132, 133. 

Kirkpatrick, T. H., Lieutenant, 26th 
Virginia Battalion, describes part 
taken by Twenty-sixth Battalion, 
139- 

Lacey's Spring, near New Market, 
Confederates reach, 19. 

Lang, Theodore F., Major, U. S. A.. 
criticises Sigel, 7 n. ; describes be- 
ginning of battle, 29 n. ; describes 
charge of Cadets, 69 n. ; describes 
splendid advance of Cadets, 74 n. ; 
states losses of Federals, 98 n. ; 
blames Sigel for failing to con- 
centrate army, lOi n. 

Lead-mines, near Dublin, Virginia, 
II. 

Lee. Robert E., General, position of, 
at beginning of 1864, i ; relieved 
of danger on side of Shenandoah 
Valley, 99. 

Lincoln, William S., Lieutenant- 
Colonel U. S. A., describes splen- 
did conduct of Cadets. 86 n. ; de- 
scribes danger of Thirty-fourth 
Massachusetts Regiment, 91 n. ; 
explains defeat of Federals, loi 
n. ; criticises Federal brigade com- 
manders, 102 n. ; describes posi- 
tion of Von Klei=;er's Battery. 124. 



Lindamood, Frank, sist Virginia 
Regiment, heroic conduct of, 
under fire, 79 n. ; describes part 
taken by Fifty-first Regiment, 145. 

Logan Courthouse, Virginia, 4. 

Luray, Virginia, 23. 

Luray Valley, 5. 

Lynchburg, Virginia, 3; Crook fails 
to reach, 4. 

McCausland, John Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, C. S. A., at Narrows of New 
River, 13. 
McClanahan, Captain, C. S. A., 
commands battery at New Mar- 
ket, 28; serves under Imboden, 
39, 40; causes Stahel to retreat, 
41 ; fires upon Von Kleiser's Bat- 
tery, 41; mentioned, 112. 

McClanahan's Battery, part of, with 
Imboden, 35 ; section of, shells 
fleeing Federals, 94. 

McDowell, J. W., Lieutenant, 26th 
Virginia Battalion, describes part 
taken bv Twenty-sixth Battalion, 
138. 

McDowell. W. H.. Cadet, death of, 
described. 76 n., 104 n. 

McLaughlin, William C, Major, C. 
S. A., commands Confederate artil- 
lery at New Market, 28; manage- 
ment of artillery by, 35 ; advances 
artillery, 39; opposes Federal left, 
46; assists in holding Confederate 
right. 62 ; excellent tactics of, 
95 ; splendid handling by, of Con- 
federate artillery, 95 ; mentioned, 
112; estimate by, of strength of 
opposing armies at New Market, 
116. 

McNeill. John H., Captain, C. S. 
A., destroys railroad property at 
Piedmont. West Virginia, 10; 
mentioned, itt. 

Martinsburg, West Virginia, Sigel 
at, 3. 

Massanutten Mountain, near New 
Market, 23. 

Mexican Military Academy, 150. 



INDEX 



T97 



Minge. C. H., Cadet Captain, com- 
mands Cadet artillery at New 
Market 39 n. ; on Confederate 
right, 63. 

Missourians, company of, at New 
Market, 27 n.; heavy losses of, 
98 n. 

Mobile, attack itpon, planned, 2 

Mohler, D. G., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 154. 

Moor, Augustus, Colonel, U. S. A., 
sent forward by Sigel, 6; drives 
Confederates across Shenandoah 
River, 6; occupies New Alarket, 
7. 24; asks for reinforcements, 8; 
ordered to fall back, 8; describes 
night attack by Confederates, 21 
n. ; troops of, in New Market, 28 ; 
croops commanded by, in first part 
of battle, 36; commands first line 
m second part of battle. 36; de- 
scribes movements of Federal first 
line, 44 n. ; endeavors to bring up 
remainder of his brigade, 90 n. ; 
describes retreat of Federals be- 
yond Shenandoah River, 97 n. ; 
commands First Brigade of In- 
fantry at New Market, no; de- 
scribes movements of Eighteenth 
Connecticut and One Hundred 
and Twenty-third Ohio Regiments 
123. 

Morgan. John H., Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, C. S. A., II. 

Morton, T. C, Captain, 26th Vir- 
ginia Battalion, describes part 
taken by Twenty-sixth Battalion, 
140. 

Mount Crawford, Virginia. 10 ; Con- 
federates reach. 21. 

Mount Jackson, Virginia, Sigel de- 
sires to fight at, 8. 

Napoleon guns, in battery of Von 
Kleiser, 36. 

New Market, Virginia, occupied by 
Federals, 6. 7; topography of, 22; 
strategic importance of, 23; fight- 
ing in, 31 ; abandoned by Federals, 
31. 



New Market, battle of, parts of, 26; 
first part of, begins about 9:30 
A. M., 29 n. ; second part of, be- 
gins about 2 P. M., 31, 39; artil- 
lery duel in, 40; second part of, 
how divided, 43; struggle with 
second Federal line in second part 
of, 46; work of Confederate com- 
mands in second part of, 52 ; posi- 
tions of Confederate commands 
in second part of, 52, 53; lull in. 
56; turning-point in, 83; second 
part of. ends with retreat of Fed- 
erals from Bushong's Hill, 90; 
concluding comments upon, 108, 
109; value of study of, as charac- 
teristic, 108, 109. 

New River, Crook defeats Confed- 
erates at, 4; bridge over, burned, 
4- 

Noland, N. B., Cadet, account by, 
of Federal artillery fire, 148, 149! 

One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio 
Regiment, in Federal rear, 27; at 
Mount Jackson, 38; arrives too 
late to save the day, 90 n. ; re- 
tards pursuit by Confederates. 93. 

One Hundred and Twenty-third 
Ohio Regiment, at New Market, 
28; in second part of battle, 36; 
in Federal first line, 44; makes 
feeble resistance, 44; remnant of. 
61 ; gives little aid to Federal sec- 
ond line, 91. 

Otey, Peter J., Major. C. S. A., 
commands Thirtieth Virginia Bat- 
talion part of the time, 29 n. ; de- 
scribes conduct of Fifty-first Vir- 
ginia Regiment and Thirtieth Vir- 
ginia Battalion, 54 n. ; comment 
of. on part taken by Cadets in re- 
pulse of Federal countercharge, 
58 n. 

Otis, C. G.. Major. U. S. A., com- 
mands Twenty-first New York 
Cavalry at New Market, no. 

Parsons, J. W., Captain, Eighteenth 
Virginia Cavalry, speaks of mag- 
nificent appearance of Breckin- 
ridge, 121 n. 



J 98 



Patton, George, Colonel, C. S. A., 
commands Twenty-second Vir- 
ginia Regiment at New Market, 
27; mentioned, iii; meets Colonel 
George H. Smith during battle, 
129. 

Patton, W. M., Cadet, describes 
march of Cadets, 19 n. 

Peale, Henry, Major. U. S. A., 
commands Eighteenth Connecticut 
Regiment, ^6; describes defeat of 
Federal first line, 44 n. ; men- 
tioned, no; describes position of 
Eighteenth Connecticut with re- 
spect to the One Hundred and 
Twenty-third Ohio Regiment, 123. 

Piedmont, West Virginia, raid of 
McNeill at, 10. 

Pizzini, Andrew, Jr., Cadet, de- 
scribes arrangement of Confed- 
erate troops, 34 n. 

Positions of commands, uncertainty 
about, 122; Federal, described by 
Sigel, 122. 

Powell, J. J. A.. Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 154. 

Pratt, G. Julicin, Captain. i8th Vir- 
ginia Cavalry, says Imboden was 
not expected to cross Smith's 
Creek, 42 n. 

Preston, Frank, Cadet Captain, de- 
scribes march of Cadets. 18 n. ; 
prays for Cadet Corps, 22; does 
not mention capture of artillery 
by Cadets, 71 ; describes advance 
of Cadets, 74 n. ; describes death 
of Cadets, 76 n. ; conduct of, at 
Bushong's fence, 81 n. ; asserts 
that he ordered Cadets to charge, 
84 n. ; describes capture of pris- 
oners by Cadets, 91 n. ; describes 
line of advance of Cadets, 130; 
describes charge by Cadets, 158. 

Preston, J. T., Colonel, C. S. A., 
addresses Cadets, 14. 

Prestons of Virginia, Breckinridge 
related to, 119. 



INDEX 



Rains, country around New Market 
drenched by, 85. 

Read, E. S., Captain, 26th Virginia 
Battalion, describes part taken by 
Twenty-sixth Battalion, 136, 137. 

Richmond, threatened by Butler, 2 ; 
Cadets ordered to, 107. 

Richmond, C. H., describes humor- 
ous incident during retreat of 
Eighteenth Connecticut Regiment, 
45 n. 

Robinson, Thomas B., Commanding 
D Company, Cadet Corps, asserts 
that he ordered Cadets to charge, 
84 n. 

Rockingham County, Virginia, re- 
serves of. summoned, 10. 

Roster of Cadets, 164 ff. 

Royster, Lawrence, Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery. 154. 

Rude's Hill, near New Market, 23; 
Federals retreat to, 95. 

Saint Matthew's Lutheran Ceme- 
tery, monument to Confederate 
soldiers and Cadets in, 105. 

Salt-works, near Dublin, Virginia, 
II. 

Sayers, D. H., Sist Virginia Regi- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fifty-first Regiment, 145. 

"Seed Corn Battalion," Cadets 
called, 8s n. 

''Seed Corn of the Confederacy," 
Cadets called, 15. 

Shenandoah River, north fork of. 
23 ; bluffs of, held by Federal ar- 
tillery. 37. 

Shenandoah Valley, march of Sigel 
up, 4: defended successfully by 
Breckinridge, 103 ; Confederates 
unable to hold permanently, 103. 

Sherman, William Tecumseh, Ma- 
jor-General, march of, against 
Johnston, 2. 

Shinp, Scott. Lieutenant-Colonel, in 
command of Cadet Corps, 13; ad- 
dresses Cadets. 22 ; leads Cadets 
at New Market. 27 ; describes ar- 



INDEX 



199 



rangement of Confederate troops, 
34 n. ; wounded, 59, 81, 83; offi- 
cial report of, fails to mention 
capture of artillery by Cadets, 70, 
71 ; describes fine conduct of Ca- 
dets under fire, 7^ n. ; leads 
Cadets toward Bushong House, 
74, 75 J describes oblique move- 
ment of Cadets, 74 n. ; mentions 
confusion in Confederate line, 75 
n. ; describes losses of Cadets in 
orchard, 81 n. ; describes exhaus- 
tion of Cadets, 93 n. ; mentioned, 
III; estimates strength of oppos- 
ing armies at New Market, 116; 
describes charge of Cadets, 159, 
161. 

Shirley's Hill, southwest of New 
Market, 21 ; Confederates posted 
on, 23. 

Sigel. Franz, Major-General, in 
charge of Federal Department of 
West Virginia, 3; at Martins- 
burg, 3 ; expected to divert at- 
tention of Confederates from 
Crook, 3 ; march of, up Shen- 
andoah Valley, 4; explains his 
plan, 4 n. ; sets out from Winches- 
ter, Virginia, 5 ; advances slowly, 
5 ; strength of army of. 5 ; expects 
little opposition, 5 ; joined by Sul- 
livan, 6; not aware of proximity 
of Breckinridge. 6 n. ; army of, 
becomes separated, 7; explanatfon 
of failure of, 7; describes his ad- 
vance, 7 n. ; desires to fight at 
Mount Jackson, 8; resolves to 
fight at New Market, 8; justifies 
stand at New Market, 8 n. ; poor 
strategy of, 29, 44; tactics of, in 
second part of battle, 35 ; criticism 
of, 36; fails to concentrate troops, 
38, 90 ; comment of, on importance 
of Imboden's flank movement, 41 ; 
retreat of, not cut off, 43 ; pre- 
parations of, to defend Federal 
right, 46; orders countercharge, 
57 ; describes repulse of Confed- 
erates, 78, 79; heavy fire described 
by, 86 n. ; decides to bring battle to 



an end. 96; abandons Rude's Hill, 
96; orders retreat to Mount Jack- 
son, 96 n. ; states reasons for not 
holding Rude's Hill, 96 n. ; com- 
ments on management of, in New 
Market campaign, 100; excuses 
his failure, 100; states reasons for 
retreating, 100 ; personal bravery 
of, 100 n. ; makes report on battle 
of New Market, 100 n., 102 ; com- 
ments of, on Federal campaigns 
in Shenandoah Valley, loi ; esti- 
mate of, loi ; strictures upon, lOi ; 
poor co-operation on part of sub- 
ordinates of, 102 ; loses confidence 
of superiors, 102, 103 ; resigns, 
103 ; commander-in-chief of Fed- 
eral forces at New Market, 110; 
estimate of character of, 117; 
early life of, in Germany, 117; 
emigrates to United States after 
Revolution of 1848, 117; services 
of as Federal commander in Civil 
War, 117; in New Market cam- 
paign, 118; latter years of, 118; 
describes position of Van Klei- 
ser's Battery, 124; mentions cap- 
ture of cannon on Federal right, 
158 n. 
Sixty-second Virginia Regiment, 
27 ; taken from Imboden's com- 
mand and assigned to Wharton, 
35 n. ; in second part of battle, 
46; repulsed in Confederate cen- 
ter, 50, 54; unable to go forward, 
51; advance of, 53; terrible losses 
of, 54 ; falls back, 54 ; fine con- 
duct of, under fire, 57 n. ; drives 
Federals from position, 60; at- 
tacks Thiry-fourth Massachusetts 
Regiment, 91 ; with Twenty-sixth 
Virginia Battalion advances be- 
yond remainder of Confederate 
army, 94 ; heavy losses of, 98 ; 
position of, 125, 126; position of. 
with reference to Twenty-second 
Virginia Regiment, 128; position 
of, with reference to Bushong 
House, 129. 



200 



INDEX 



Skirmishers, Confederate, 29; Fed- 
eral, 29. 

Smith, Francis H., Brevet Major- 
General, Superintendent of the 
Virginia Military Institute, 14; 
reports readiness of Cadets to 
march, 17. 

Smith, George H., Colonel, C. S. 
A., commands Confederates in 
absence of Imboden, 24; com- 
mander of Sixty-second Virginia 
Regiment, 27 ; in second part of 
battle, 46; explains temporary re- 
treat of Sixty-second Regiment, 
54 n. ; describes continuity of Con- 
federate advance, 79 n. ; awaits 
arrival of Twenty-second Virginia 
Regiment, 83; mentioned, iii; 
meets Colonel George Patton dur- 
ing battle, 128, 129; comment of, 
concerning Cadets and capture of 
cannon, 157. 

Smith's Creek, branch of North 
Fori? of Shenandoah River, 23 ; 
not fordable, 43. 

Snow, Alonzo, Captain, U. S. A., 
commands Battery B, Maryland 
Light Artillery, at New Market, 
29, 37, III. 

Spiller, W. H., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 156. 

'Stahel, Julius, Major-General, U. 
S. A., reaches New Market, 30 ; 
commands Federal cavalry at 
New Market, 38; holds Federal 
left. 40, 56, 61 ; flanked by Im- 
boden, 41 ; retreats, 41 ; opposes 
Confederate right, 45 ; cavalry of, 
makes charge on Confederate left, 
61-64; significance of failure of, 
61 ; mentioned, no. 

Stanard, J. B., Cadet, death of, de- 
scribed, 77 n., 104 n. 

Staunton, Virginia, 3 ; Sigel sets out 
for, 4; Cadets reach, 18; to be 
protected by Breckinridge, 20; 
importance of, 20 n. ; Cadets re- 
ceive ovation at, 106 n. 



Stone, Samuel, 51st Virginia Reg- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fifty-first Regiment, 145. 

Sullivan, Jeremiah C, Brigadier- 
General, U. S. A., joins Sigel, 6; 
commands First Infantry Division 
at New Market, no. 

Taylor, R. F., Colonel, U. S. A., 
commands First New York (Vet- 
eran) Cavalry at New Market, 
no. 

Thirtieth Virginia Battalion, unable 
to advance in Confederate center, 
51 ; drives Federals from position, 
60; uncertainty about position of, 
126; position of, 130, 131; frag- 
ments of, probably not reunited, 

130, 131- 

Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, at New Market, 28; in sec- 
ond part of battle, 37, 53 ; de- 
tached company of, supports Snow 
and Carlin, 38; in Federal right 
center, 48; detached company of, 
opposes Twenty-sixth Virginia 
Battalion, 50; defeated, 50; gal- 
lant conduct of, in countercharge, 
58, 82 ; heavy losses of, 58 ; re- 
pulse of, 58, 83 ; left unsupported, 
60; assailed on all sides, 60; splen- 
did resistance of, 60 n. ; attacked 
by Confederates, 91 ; detached 
company of, routed by Twenty- 
sixth Virginia Battalion, 91 ; fine 
resistance of, 92 ; heavy losses of, 
98 n. ; position of, described by 
Colonel Wells, 123. 

Thoburn, Joseph, Colonel, U. S. A., 
commands Second Brigade of In- 
fantry, S7, no; commands second 
Federal line in second part of bat- 
tle, 37; orders charge, 57 n. 

Thompson, A. P., Cadet, describes 
triumphal progress of Cadets, 
106 n. 

Thunderstom, during battle of New 
Market, 85. 

Tibbitts, William B.. Colonel, U. S. 
A., commands First Brigade of 
Cavalry at New Market, no. 



INDEX 



20I 



Town, Franklin E., Captain, U. S. 
A., describes charge of Cadets, 
68, 69; criticism of story of, about 
charge by Cadets, 70; states cause 
of defeat of Federals, lOi n. 

Tunstall, R. B., Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 155. 

Turnpike, Valley, march of Con- 
federates along. 21. 

Tutwiler, E. M.. Cadet, describes 
charge of Cadets against Von 
Kleiser's Battery, 155. 

Twelfth West Virginia Regiment, 
held in reserve, 38; forced to re- 
treat by Twenty-sixth Virginia 
Battalion, 91. 

Twentieth Pennsylvania Cavalry, 
detachment of, at New Market, 
28. 

Twenty-eighth Ohio Regiment, in 
Federal rear, 37; at Mount Jack- 
son, 38; arrives too late to save 
the day, 90 n. ; retards pursuit by 
Confederates, 93. 

Twenty-second Pennsylvania Cav- 
alry, detachment of, at New Mar- 
ket, 28. 

Twenty-second Virginia Regiment, 
27; in second part of battle, 46; 
stands ground with difficulty on 
Confederate right, 51 ; reinforces 
Sixty-second Virginia Regiment, 
57, 59. 83 ; drives Federals from 
position, 60 ; helps to resist 
Stahel's cavalry, 61, 64; helps to 
repulse Federal cavalry. 64 : at- 
tacks First West Virginia Regi- 
ment. 91 ; attacks Fifty-fourth 
Pennsylvania Regiment, 91 ; posi- 
tion of, 126; position of. with 
reference to Sixty-second Vir- 
ginia Regiment, 128; position with 
reference to Bushong House, 129. 
Twenty-sixth Virginia Battalion, 
27; moved from reserve to first 
line, 28; in second part of bat- 
tle. 46; forced to march behind 
Fifty-first Virginia Regiment, 47; 
breaks Federal line on right, 49. 



so; captures three pieces of artil- 
lery, 50, 91 ; splendid services of, 
51; reasons for success of, 51; 
said to have remained in Confed- 
erate rear, 51; controversy of, 
with Fifty-first Virginia Regiment 
about capture of Federal guns, 
51. 52. 134; advances on Federal 
right flank, 60; achieves first suc- 
cess on Confederate left, 81 ; 
flanks Federals on right, 83; with 
Sixty-second Virginia Regiment 
advances beyond remainder of 
Confederate army, 94; position of, 
125 ; accounts by officers and men 
of 134-141; accounts of. criticised, 
142; accounts of, disputed by 
members of Fifty-first Regiment, 
142; judgment upon work of, by 
author, 146. 

Twenty-third Virginia Battalion, 
27; in second part of battle, 46; 
holds position with difficulty, 51; 
holds Confederate right. 61, 62, 
63 ; involved in furious contest, 
62; helps to repulse Federal cav- 
alry, 64; fine conduct of, 64; posi- 
tion of, 125. 

Twenty-third V^irginia Cavalry, with 
Imboden. 35; crosses Smith's 
Creek, 41. 

Union, Virginia, Crook meets Ave- 

rell at, 4. 
Upshur, J. N., Cadet, describes 

march of Cadets around Bushong 

House, 77 n. 

Vaughn, John C. Brigadier-Gene- 
ral, C. S. A., II. 

Veterans. Confederate, honor Ca- 
dets. 106 n. 

Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, 
raid against planned, 3 ; bridge of, 
across New River, burned by 
Crook. 4. 

Virginia Central Railroad, 5. 

Virginia Military Institute. Cadets 
of, summoned. 13: established at 
Lexington. Virginia, 1839. 14; 



202 



INDEX 



purpose of, 14; work of, at be- 
ginning of Civil War, 14; closed 
in May, 1861, 14; Cadets of. go 
to Richmond, 14; reopened, Jan- 
uary, 1862, 15 ; burned by Hunter, 
107. 

"Virginia Mourning Her Dead," 
monument to Cadets at Lexing- 
ington. Virginia, 105. 

Von Kleiser, Albert, Captain. U. S. 
A., commands Thirtieth Battery, 
New York Light Artillery, at 
New Market, 36; loses guns, but 
not battery, 71; mentioned, ni. 

Von Klciser's Battery, in Federal 
first line, 44; thrown forward, 
54; position of, 124. 

Waddell, J. N., 12th West Virginia 
Regiment, describes fire of Cadets 
from Bushong's orchard, 81 n. 

Waller, R. E., Cadet, describes con- 
duct of Captain Henry A. Wise, 
84 n. ; describes charge of Cadets 
against Von Kleiser's Battery, 

156. . . . „ . 

Wampler, W. E., 51st Virgmia Regi- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fifty-first Regiment, 145. 
Wardensville, Virginia. 5. 
Washburn, James. Colonel, U. S. 
A., commands One Hundred and 
Sixteenth Ohio Regiment at New 
Market, 37; describes flight of 
Federal soldiers. 90 n. ; men- 
tioned, no. 
Waterloo, topography of, 22. 
Weddle, Jacob. Lieutenant-Colonel, 
U. S. A., commands First We^t 
Virginia Regiment at. New Mar- 
ket. 28. 
Wells. George D., Colonel, U. S. A,, 
commands Thirty-fourth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment at New Mar- 
ket, 28: describes fine advance 
of Confederates, 55 n. ; describes 
repulse of Thirty-fourth Massa- 
cusetts, 58 n. : describes fine re- 
sistance of Thirty-fourth Mas=a- 



chusetts, 60 n. ; describes retreat 
of Thirty-fourth Massachusetts, 
92 n. ; describes movements of 
Thirty-fourth Massachusetts, 123. 
West Virginia, Federal Department 

of, 2. 
Western Department of Virginia, 11. 
Wharton, Gabriel C. Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, C. S. A., at Narrows of New 
River, 11 ; troops of, at New Mar- 
ket, 27 ; commands of, in second 
part of battle, 46; commands of, 
fall into disorder. 78 ; commands 
of, repulsed, 80, 81 ; heavy losses 
of commands of, 98; commands 
brigade of infantry at New Mar- 
ket, in; comments of, on work 
of Fifty-first Virginia Regiment 
as compared with that of the 
Twenty-sixth Virginia Battalion, 
142. 
White, Robert. Colonel, C. S. A., 
commands Twenty-third Virginia 
Cavalry at New Market, in. 
Wise, Henry A., Senior Tactical Of- 
ficer, Captain commanding Com- 
pany A, Cadet Corps, orders 
Cadets to charge, 59, 84; takes 
command of Cadets, 83 ; resolves 
to advance, 83, 84; conduct of, 
described, 84 n. ; humorous story 
told about, 105 n. 
W^ise. John S.. Cadet, describes life 
of Cadets at Virginia Military In- 
stitute, 15 n. ; describes summons 
of Cadets, 17 n. ; describes night 
summons of Cadets near New 
Market, 22 n. ; describes cannon- 
ade. 30 n. ; refuses to remain with 
baggage, 33 n. ; writes of dead 
Cadets, 104 n. ; describes splendid 
appearance of Breckinridge, 121 n. 
Wolfe, Lieutenant-Colonel, C. S. 
A., commands Fifty-first Virginia 
Regiment at New Market, 27; in 
second part of battle, 46. 
Wolfe. R. E.. 51st Virginia Regi- 
ment, describes part taken by 
Fifty-first Regiment, 143, 144- 



J 



INDEX 



203 



Woodrum, Richard, Major, C. S. A., 
describes part taken by Twenlv- 
sixth Virginia Battalion, 136. 

Woodson, Captain, C. S. A., com- 
mands company of Missourians at 
New Market, 27 n. 

Woodson's Company, heroic coi- 
duct of, 54 ; temporarily silences 



Von Kleiser's Battery, 55; fearful 
losses of, 55 ; monument to, 55. 

Woodstock, Virginia, capture of 
Confederate correspondence at, 6. 

Wynkoop, John E., Colonel, U. S. 
A., commands Second Cavalry 
Brigade at New Market, no. 



JUM 12 ^9^2 



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